Diamond Dust
by MusingAIR
Summary: Akatsuki has returned and the Fourth Shinobi War is about to start, the villages do not know what to do and the situation has changed. The future is unknown and Sakura has been seduced into the darkness. Everybody will be forced to make a choice at the end and the fate of the shinobi world is yet to be determined!
1. HEY! Pt1

**Hello, readers, well this will be my first Naruto fic that I have published in fanfiction and for any of you touchy people it will be Akatsuki orientated. They will be the protagonists… villages will be seen as the bad guys and if you do not likie… don't read.**

**Also I am in the search for a Beta for this story and if you are interested, please PM me… all that is necessary is a well rounded knowledge of Naruto both manga and Anime (fillers and all, and to the latest Japanese episode that as been aired). I know, I know, I am asking perhaps a lot here… but I need help in making sure things are going good, that the characters are canon and that the story I'm telling fits in with the background that we have been provided.**

**One thing, I did change the time of Konan's death and Tobi/Obito wasn't able to get his hands on Nagato's rinnegan... his body had already disappeared. **

**I know I am rambling here and that none of you care and just want to get on with the story and I will only say this once… cause I'll most likely forget in the future to say it again. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS!**

* * *

**_Sweet world it's over, dream time is over_  
_Another story comes and goes _-Akeboshi-  
**

* * *

In a cavern near the edge of Kawa no kuni (River Country), seven pair of eyes looked at one another… some of them expressing their surprise more openly then others.

"Pein what is the meaning of this?" a bored voice demanded, staring down at his hands in disgust.

Blue eyes snapped towards the red head, still in too much shock to be able to find his voice. The last thing that he remembered was staring at the younger Uchiha before his Ultimate Art exploded.

Ringed eyes looked around the room; he had not expected all of them to return. He would have to figure out what it all means after he explains what at least he already understands to his subordinates. His eyes flickered towards the sharingan wielder. Well he wasn't the only one that had some explaining to do.

"Settle down," his calm voice spoke above the others, demanding the attention of six of the deadliest shinobi of the last generations. "As you can all see, we have return to the world of the living."

Hidan resisted the urge of responding sarcastically.

"Yes Pein, but how?" Konan spoke up.

The rinnegan wielder sighed, "after the unpredictable death of Sasori. I placed a jutsu on our rings to use the chakra that we have donated to the statue and used the chakra of the beasts to restore us back to full health."

The room remained silent, more than a few members not understanding why Pein would risk the stability of the statue, in making sure that none of his members died.

"That still doesn't explain why I am here?"

Pein nodded, "if I were to guess, I would say that your real body remained alive long enough for me to perform the jutsu. Since you have been present since the sealing of the first two beasts, there must have been enough of your chakra stored up for it to work."

Sasori grunted in acknowledgement, though still loathed the idea of being human.

"Well that answers that, however what are we supposed to do now, hmm?"

Pein resisted the urge to shrug, in all honesty so many things have changed that he wasn't sure what to do. Though, he understood that it wasn't in the world's best interest to let a group of shinobi such like themselves loose, without a purpose or goal.

"Pein-san, I believe it will be best to tell them the whole truth." The Uchiha decided to speak up.

The other four looked between the two, curious as to what they were talking about; really leaving Pein no choice. However, he was going to force the truth out of Itachi first.

"Very well, but I believe you are better suited to explain what is going on, Itachi-san."

The stoic ninja sighed; he really should have seen this coming. Though, admittedly he was still distracted over the fact that he was in perfect health and his eyes are as sharp as when he was eight.

Itachi remain silent for a few seconds, debating if it will be wise to trust these criminals with his most guarded secrets. Yet, it wasn't as though Pein was really giving him a choice.

Exhaling he related his clan's history; the one that Konohagakure no Soto (Hidden Leaf Village) has tried so hard to forget. When he gets to the part about the elders ordering him to whip out his clan, the eyes of every nin narrowed. To the same extent this confirmed the beliefs they all held about what the Hidden Villages really are, a bunch of hypocrites that abuse the trust that their shinobi place on them.

He looked directly at Pein as he explained his reason for joining Akatsuki. "I came into this organization to keep an eye on a certain person; this person was also the one that helped me with the massacre of my family in exchange for not attacking Konoha."

"Fucking great, so you are a fucking spy!" Hidan yelled in annoyance.

The stoic Uchiha sighed; he really didn't enjoy explaining himself, but if he understood what Pein was planning then it would be best to have these shinobi on his side.

"Not in the complete sense of the word, in incense I agree with the goals of this organization: peace throughout the Shinobi Nations. However, I do not agree with Madara's methods; the beasts' power should not be harvest into such a weapon."

Deidara snorted, "ironic how it was that power that brought you back." Itachi shrugged. "Though, who is this Madara?" the Iwa-nin added.

"Uchiha Madara, or as you knew him, Tobi, was the real leader of Akatsuki," answered Pein.

The room filled with a tense silence, this news was more surprising then Itachi being a spy.

"That is impossible, Madara would be older then I and if I recall correctly the first Hokage killed him," objected Kakuzu.

"Plus, why would he pretend to be such an idiot?" added Hidan.

Deidara was shaking. He could not believe he was tricked in such a way. He had been his partner for nearly twelve months and he would have never thought the idiot was anything more than an idiot. Plus, he hates being made a fool and to be thought of as only a weapon. If he wanted that he would have stayed in Iwagakure

"So what do you want to do?" asked Sasori, bore with all this drama.

"I have been informed that Madara is planning to declare war on all the shinobi nations to be able to capture the last two jinchūriki. He has allied himself with Kabuto and Uchiha Sasuke's Team Taka."

Itachi's eyes narrowed, "what are you talking about, Pein?"

Pein smirked, "it would seem that Madara has told your brother a version of the truth behind your clan's massacre. He is now hell bent on getting revenge on Konoha for the way they used you."

Itachi sighed; his brother is so predictable yet now Pein has given him a reason to join this war.

Deidara growled in annoyance, stupid Uchiha and their habit of escaping death in impossible situations. That was his Ultimate Art and nobody should be able to escape!

"The five great nations plan to meet in Tetsu no tochi (Land of Iron) to discuss Akatsuki that is when Madara plans to make his declaration. I myself feel that Madara is a threat that we cannot ignore and will have to confront. His idea of peace is just an illusion, a genjutsu to be franc."

"I don't see a fucking reason why we should worry, let the idiotic villages and Madara kill one another!" Hidan Grunted.

"Yes, Pein-sama, why do you wish to interfere? The villages mean nothing to us; we have all been used by them… and betrayed. Why should any of us help them?" Sasori contradicted.

The others nodded, except Itachi that was planning on how to get his otouto to see reason. Pein nodded, understanding where they were coming from.

"Anyway, wouldn't the villages come after us once they realize we are all alive, hmm?"

Hidan looked at Deidara in surprise, 'since when does Blondie ever make sense?!'

Konan looked at her old friend; she knew that he wished to make up for his past mistakes and to help Naruto achieve their sensei's dream. Nagato knows that the Akatsuki is a force to be reckoned with and will provide a great advantage in favor of the Great nations. He just doesn't want to explain his reasons to the others and the others aren't going to follow him blindly; they never have.

"This isn't to help the villages," Konan said, surprising them all. She normally never spoke in these meetings. "We will go against Madara to show him that we are not just tools that he can manipulate. We are shinobi that are feared by even the greatest of the villages and he believes that we are just pawns that can be played with and sacrificed as he wishes. We will not fight for the sake of the villages that have condemned us since childhood. We will also demonstrate to said shinobi that believe us weak our true power."

Deidara inclined his head, as well as Nagato, Itachi and Sasori. She did give them a good excuse as to why they should join the incoming war, but something was still missing.

"What of the bijū and the statue?" Sasori stated their thoughts.

Pein narrowed his eyes that power was ultimately theirs. "That will be our other goal; all of us here are linked to the chakra within the Seventh Path. We shall go after it and make sure that no village obtains that power."

A few of them smirked, this was something they could all understand and agree on.

"What of the others, un?"

"The moment the jutsu activated the link to Madara, Kisame and Zetsu broke. The statue's power will only work for us."

Itachi's eyes narrowed, "and what do you plan to do with it?"

"We will discuss that once Madara is truly defeated, though it will be something that we decide as a whole. From now on we'll work as a real team to show the true power of the Akatsuki."

Kakuzu grunted teamwork really isn't his thing. The number of partners his killed during his years in Akatsuki should be a testament to that. However, he felt as though he really didn't have a choice; Pein wasn't going to let any of them leave if they disagree with his ideas.

The group slowly started to nod to show their agreement, though it was reluctant for a few. Itachi only knew that he needed to find a way to save his brother and if Pein really didn't have anything planned against Konoha then he will stand with him.

Nagato sighed inwardly in relief, now it was time to start getting things ready. "Good, now at the time we are residing in our base near the border of Kusa (Grass) and Ame (Rain). We will all rest for a day to get used to being back, afterward we shall move out."

Everybody nodded, yet Sasori couldn't help but glare at his hands once more.

Konan's eyes harden, "what has become of Amegakure?"

Pein's expression darkened, remembering everything he was told about his village after his death. "Following your death by Madara's hand, Konoha and Suna shinobi moved in. They have taken the shinobi loyal to us into custody under the pretext that they wish to know how we manipulated a whole village. That will be our first move before we head to the summit; we shall reclaim our home."

There were a few who grunted in disagreement, yet no one voiced it. They all knew that they needed a secure place to reside and Ame and its civilians have stood by the Akatsuki for the past years.

The room was silent for a few seconds until Pein dismissed them, reminding them to rest and to get ready for a battle. They will not be able to let word get out that any of them were alive until the time of the summit.

As the members began to leave, Deidara remembered something that had been bugging him since the start of the meeting.

"Pein-sama didn't you use to have orange hair, un?"

**-o-o-o-**

The hours passed and a thin layer of tension could be felt, for the first hour Sasori quietly complained to Deidara about how all his hard work had been for nothing. Deidara did his best to hide his amusement.

Hidan was thrill that now he could continue his work for Jashin, his god was going to be pleased.

Itachi stood in the library staring out into the drowning sky.

"Things not go as you expected?" asked Pein as he entered the room.

Itachi grunted, reflecting everything that happened during the last two years.

"I notice you weren't surprise that I knew your secret," he said walking towards the shelf.

"I have never thought you incompetent." Itachi said in a monotonous voice.

"However, you've thought me a fool." He said matter-of-factly, "For listening to Madara all those years ago."

Itachi shrugged, "he offered you a way to achieve your dream and at that time you were grieving the death of your friend. Anybody can relate."

"Though the others didn't act as you expected?"

"They were more accepting then I would have imagined."

"Don't underestimate their intelligence, a few of them have been suspicious for a while now. Sasori and Deidara were the first to voice this." Itachi raised his eyebrow. "I informed them to not worry that you have never acted against the organization or have shared our secrets."

Itachi clearly heard Pein's unsaid warning/threat, "dully noted."

"That being said, if given the chance would you return to Konoha?"

Itachi sighed, he had been thinking of this for the last hours. Nonetheless, he already knew the answer. "No I won't be going back, Konoha no longer holds the prospect of a peaceful life any longer; at least not for myself."

Pein sighed inwardly, pleased that he wasn't going to have to fight the Uchiha.

"Very well..."

**-o-o-o-**

Night passed without incidents and the Akatsuki member ready themselves for what was to come. They knew that they would eventually spill blood once more. As dawn approached the eight shinobi gathered around the entrance.

"As we enter Amegakure, we will not hide; Ame's people will know of our return."

The group nodded, Hidan and Deidara grinned.

"Remember you are not allowed to kill any shinobi or harm the village in any way."

The previous two grins dropped and they grumbled their disappointment.

"Pein-sama, how many shinobi are in the city?" Kakuzu grunted.

Pein was quiet for a while, calculating how many shinobi each village would be willing to send. "Around hundred at least, they had to have hit the village when the citizens were mourning Konan's death." His expression darkened at the last two words.

There were a few grunts of disgust at the underhanded tactics of the Hidden Villages.

The group travel for the next hours in silence, no one (Deidara and Hidan) dared to speak up. As the group reached the boarder of the village Pein stopped and smirked at the clear sky. Everybody will be able to witness their return.

In a matter of seconds, the seven Akatsuki members stood at the village's gates looking over the busy streets of the village.

It was a girl no older than eight that first notice their presence. She screamed in delight and ripped her hand out of her mother's grasp, running towards the cloak figures with unpolluted happiness.

The girl ran up to Konan and to the surprise of everyone, but Pein, she wrapped her arms around the older woman's waist.

"Tenshi-sama (Lady Angel)! I told Mother that you weren't dead!" A deep chuckle got the girl's attention to the man that was standing next to her tenshi (angel). "Pein-sama you are back as well!"

It was at this moment that the girl's mother appeared, the other members were looking at the crowd as they stared at the girl with anticipation; waiting to see what their Tenshi and Kami (God) will do.

"Kami-sama, Tenshi-sama, forgive my daughter's rudeness! She does not know any better!" The woman fritted trying to pry her daughter from Konan's waist.

Pein lifted his hand to silence the mother; Konan smiled and lifted the girl. "Be proud, you have a brave little girl and child you are right to have faith in us. We will never abandon our village."

Her last words were directed at the crowd and it obviously relaxed. The people started to whisper and Akatsuki saw how the news spread.

It was a matter of seconds later that a Konoha shinobi jump in front of the group. The shock that he felt was fleeting and the blank mask was firmly in place.

"Everybody step back! This is a group of dangerous criminals!"

The crowd turned on the shinobi, "Akatsuki-samas are the rightful lords of this village!"

"Yes, you do not belong here!" another villager joined in. Soon the shinobi was surrounded, he had a bewilder expression, not believing that these people were defending a group of S-class criminals.

Pein smirked and lifted his hand once more; the group instantly fell silent. "You have heard the people, Konoha-nin and you should know that we do not take kindly to trespassers." He inclined his head and addressed the Akatsuki. "Spread out and search the village incapacitate and capture all Suna and Konoha shinobi." With that the five members disappeared, Itachi momentarily appearing behind the Konoha shinobi and as fast hit a pressure point on his neck; causing the nin to lose consciousness. Itachi left not a second later.

"Kami-sama, please help my husband. He was captured trying to keep Konoha's shinobi away." A woman in her mid-twenties ran up to him and knelt at his feet.

Pein nodded he knew that the shinobi that stood with him were arrested and if the Suna and Konoha shinobi what was best for them, Ame's shinobi better not have been treated badly.

"Do any of you know where they are being kept?"

A man stepped forward, bowing his head in respect. "There are rumors that suggest that they are being held in the first level prison."

Konan's eyes narrowed not liking the man's answer. Those cells were known to flood whenever it rain long/hard enough.

"We will get them at once and bring them back to their family." She said tonelessly not letting her worry show.

Pein meet Konan's eyes; they were both dreading the worst. Those shinobi better be alive or the outsiders will surely suffer.

**-o-o-o-**

It was 30 minutes later that the Akatsuki meet at the central tower. A circle of their prisoners lay at the center. To the relief of Konan and Pein the Ame's shinobi were all alive, only a handful were located on the lower cell were suffering the early signs of hyperthermia. The ninjas that were healthy and that wanted to stood against the far wall.

Nagato looked at the pile of unconscious bodies. "Take them to the cells that you were being held in, but make sure that none of them die. We might need them to be able to reach an agreement with the other villages."

The shinobi nodded and immediately started to haul their prisoners away.

Pein turned towards his members. "Nicely done, we will rest for a week before we start our journey to Tetsu (Iron). Konan will stay here to keep watch over the village and prisoners."

They all nodded and left the room to search for their previous living quarters. Konan turn her glare at her partner; she did not enjoy being left behind and he knows this.

As though reading her thoughts, he turned to her. "You shall be present at the meeting, just as the rest of us. I'm not foolish enough to not think that the Kages won't try to kill us on sight."

She looked at him confused, but nodded. She understands that she was just going to have to trust him and that he'll keep his word.

"Come on Konan, we have work to do."

**-o-o-o-**

At the other side of the building a couple of floors above them; Sasori and Deidara sat in the kitchen. The blonde couldn't stop inspecting his arms; they were perfect, as though they had never been ripped off. Also to his relief, the mouths on his hands were still present. He sighed, now he didn't need to preform that Kinjutsu ever again. It was just too painful and tiring.

Sasori was still frowning; he had truly forgotten what it meant to be human and have living flesh, emotions were as troubling as he remembered. Plus, during that fight with the Konoha pink hair brat; he had lost his two favorite puppets and his hundred puppets.

It has been hours since they saw leader and the time for dinner was quickly approaching, yet neither of the two artists showed signs about doing anything about it.

Pein entered the room and noticed the eerie silence, "Sasori!"

Said red head looked up and caught the small metal object that had been thrown his way.

Deidara looked over his partner shoulder and gapped. "I thought To-Madara had that ring?"

The rinnegan wielder shrugged. "When we were resurrected that ring lost its connection to the rest, because of that I was able to make this one."

Sasori looked at the ring and put it on his left thumb. As his chakra flowed through the metal and it adjusted itself to his finger; his nails changed their color into teal. The connection between him and the rest of the Akatsuki reestablishing, six different chakras flowed from the ring and he knows that it will be a constant present in the back of his mind.

"Tomorrow we will all go out to train, no matter what happens at the summit we have to be prepare."

The artists nodded.

"Sasori, when you have the time, I ask that you evaluate the condition of Itachi's health."

The puppet master nodded, though this piqued the blonde's attention.

"What's wrong with Uchiha-teme?"

Pein looked down at the organization's youngest member, "nothing that concerns you, Deidara."

Deidara grunted, not believing that for a second. Sasori stood before his partner could say anything idiotic.

"Where is Itachi?"

"In his room, though it would be best to announce your presence before entering."

Sasori nodded before he took off.

Pein turn towards Deidara and gave him a pointed look. "This foolishness has got to end, remember Deidara that it was your temper and recklessness that brought your end."

The Iwa-nin nodded, knowing that what Pein is saying is true, yet the emotionless mask that Itachi always wears annoys him to no end and it just begs him to get a rise out of the Konoha-nin.

"I will try," was the only answer that Deidara could give his leader and Pein understood this. Deidara, though he hid it well carried his own demons and because of this he could relate to his fellow Akatsuki.

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**Well there you go and I hope you enjoyed it… if you did tell me and if you didn't tell me why. I welcome flames and enjoy hearing what you think.**

**So one more thing… I have many of the side pairings decided, but I'm not sure who I'll have paired up with Sakura and that will be the most focus and dramatic pairing. So I want you all to tell me, be it via review or PM who you want her to paired up with… be warn that it will have to be someone from Akatsuki and Sasuke isn't even an option. (I'm having issues with him right now… he is an ass for no real reason and doesn't listen to other people).**


	2. HEY! Pt2

**Hey again, so here is the next chapter a little bit of everything will happen and view of everyone will be seen, this will also have my first invented fight scene… so I hope you enjoy it.**

**I'm also still looking for a beta and if interested PM me.**

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Life's starting a new,

With a second chance

and a brewing war.

The future is as unnerving

as the churning sea.

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**Previously on Diamond Dust:**

**_"Where is Itachi?"_**

**_"In his room, though it would be best to announce your presence before entering."_**

**_Sasori nodded before he took off._**

**_Pein turn towards Deidara and gave him a pointed look. "This foolishness has got to end, remember Deidara that it was your temper and recklessness that brought your end."_**

**_The Iwa-nin nodded, knowing that what Pein is saying is true, yet the emotionless mask that Itachi always wears annoys him to no end and it just begs him to get a rise out of the Konoha-nin._**

**_"I will try," was the only answer that Deidara could give his leader and Pein understands this. Deidara, though he hid it well carries his own demons and because of this he could relate to his fellow Akatsuki._**

* * *

Sasori knocked on the Uchiha's door, forcing his mind to forget about his partner's wellbeing. Pein wasn't going to kill him after all the trouble he went through to bring them back.

"Come in," a soft voice responded.

The puppeteer entered and quickly looked over the Uchiha.

"What is it?"

"Pein asked me to look over your state of health."

The dark hair-nin grunted, before he opens his eyes and looked at him.

"Very well..."

The process was swift and the results were gratifying.

"Well it seems the illness has fully disappeared, your body is as healthy as a normal twenty-one years old. Though Itachi I recommend not to stress your body as you did before."

The Uchiha nodded, utterly surprised. It had been nearly a decade since he last called himself healthy.

"Thank you, Sasori."

The red head shrugged, "yeah well don't aggravate Deidara so much. You don't have to be with him when he goes into one of his tirades."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "didn't know you care."

Sasori snorted in disgust. "I don't, I just don't want to live with a constant headache." Anyway, the puppeteer would never admit it, he does see Deidara as a younger brother. Before waiting for a reply he left the room to look for his own.

The Suna-nin grunted as he thought back to when the brat unwillingly joined the organization.

'_Deidara looked no older then Itachi did when he joined Akatsuki, yet it was obvious that he did at times act his age. His determination to beat Itachi and not join Akatsuki, while admirable was completely foolish. The kid lost in a matter of seconds and I couldn't agree more when Kisame said he would die young._'

Sasori chuckled humorlessly; if he ever saw that shark again he would have to collect on that bet.

'_What finally made me look at the brat was his tendency to always come back no matter the state that he would leave him. His stubbornness reminded the puppeteer of himself when he was that age; it was after such an accident and the boy dragging himself back to the base that Sasori decided that at least it would benefit him for the brat to grow into his potential. He knew that Deidara thought it unnecessary, but once the brat saw the results with the genjutsu resistance; his complaining actually tone down a few notches. He hate to even think it, but our small bickering about what fine art is…is entertaining to say the least and he is the only one that even partially understands the subject._'

Sasori scoffed, 'yeah he was never going to admit any of that.'

As he entered his room, he began to plan new designs for his new puppets. He was going to have to go out and search for new materials and create a new poison that was sure to not have an antidote.

However, first he had to figure out what part of the body should he attack; and even if he had wanted to… he doesn't have the time or resources to turn into a puppet again.

**-o-o-o-**

Hidan walked into one of the common rooms, where he knew that Kakuzu would be grumbling about how much money had been lost in the last months. The Jashinist walked in covered in fresh blood from his latest sacrifice.

Kakuzu looked at his partner in disdain. "What idiotic thing have you done now?"

Hidan bristle, "ah would you stuff it! I do have a brain and I can remember Pein's few rules. The prison now is overflowing with victims for me to sacrifice to Jashin, he will be satisfied soon."

"Your idiotic righteous speeches are still as meaningless and moronic as ever. Death truly didn't teach you anything about what life is really about."

The white hair nin scoffed, "your heathen ways of only thinking about money brought your end, Kakuzu. Money means nothing if you are dead, you cheap stake."

As is the norm he ignored his partner's ongoing ranting and started to recheck the Akatsuki's accounts. They needed to find a way to replenish their funds, though unfortunately all the ninjas with worthy bounties were going to be their allies and with an all-out war the bounties will soon become worthless.

This war was sure to be a pain and he wondered if it wouldn't be better to just switch sides.

**-o-o-o-**

As the days followed, the members were occupied with either training or collecting the materials they would need. Sasori especially made a trip to Kawa no kuni (River Country) with a disgruntle Deidara. He wanted to see if it was possible to retrieve any of his old puppets.

As they jumped from the cliffs that face the opening of the cave, Deidara snorted. "That pink hair girl carries more of a punch then what I would have imagined. However, it is hard to believe that she and an old hag could have beaten you."

It was a statement, but he could hear the question. Sasori stayed quiet ignoring his partner. He did not feel like explaining his reasons at the moment, though mostly he wasn't sure himself.

Deidara scoffed in impatience, "fine don't tell me."

He was ignored once more.

Sasori leapt to where he remembered the girl destroyed his puppet, Third. Honestly, it was his fault for being so reckless. He rapidly collected all the viable pieces to recreate at least one of his greatest puppets. Pulling out a storage scroll and sealing away the parts, he turned to his partner and gave him a bore look.

"Ready? Great lets go… and no we are flying. You already dragged me here, on foot no less. Anyway, you know the sooner we get back the quicker you can start working, hmm."

The puppeteer shrugged, he really didn't fell like getting into an argument with the explosive expert. Deidara not waiting for a response molded a bird and release the chakra compacted within it; making the bird expand. When it was ready the ninjas jumped on and it took off.

The fly back to Amegakure was as predicted, Deidara kept the bird level as they headed into the village's territory.

"Danna, do you agree with Leader-sama's plan, un?"

The red head Akatsuki grunted, he couldn't blame the kid for wondering.

"I mean I can never trust one of the villages again and I bet you that none of us ever will. Is it truly wise to help the people that have made our lives a living hell since we could walk? Do we really owe them anything more, un?"

"No we don't," his partner answered looking down at the growing towers. "Yet, this is about getting back at an idiot who dared use us as his pawns. This world isn't perfect and we more than most have seen its darker side. We can let the villages fall, but when Madara comes looking for us, we will be at a greater disadvantage."

"So what, you are saying that the village shinobi will be our disposable pawns, for a change, un?"

"In lamer terms, yes, but Deidara you are correct to say all this. Not a single member is going to willingly work with any of those shinobi, I wouldn't put it pass them for them to stab us in the back before this war reaches its end."

"What should we do, un?"

"Follow leader's orders and if they attack us we will defend ourselves. I do not know about you, but I don't plan on dying again anytime soon."

Deidara chuckled, as he silently commanded the bird to land on the roof of their base. "Same here, Danna, same here, hmm."

The two walked down the flights of stairs and thought of ways of preparing for any battle that may arise. Deidara still had to figure out a way to overcome his weakness to lightning.

"Deidara keep your eye open for anything suspicious."

"What of Itachi, un?"

Sasori smirked, "Itachi will not betray us, and anyway you have to let this petty grudge go. There was a time that it pushed you to become stronger, but at the end it lead to your death. Your pride and temper have always been your weaknesses."

The blonde grunted, "as for you, your arrogance, hmm."

The Suna-nin shrugged, not seeing the point in denying it. At the end of the line, they were all still human.

Both artists' heads shot up, "Pein-sama is calling us."

"Yes, I wonder what he wants, un?"

Without another word they headed towards Pein's office.

**-o-o-o-**

As the last of the members filed in, Pein's eyes widen in surprise. Hidan's body shuffled in carrying his head, which was letting out a string of curses towards a smirking Uchiha.

He sighed; it would seem that no matter what happens certain things would never change.

"Do I wish to know what happened?"

Kakuzu grunted and gave a pointed look at the Uchiha.

Pein turned and waited for him to explain, yet to no ones' surprise he didn't.

"Very well, tomorrow everybody of the Akatsuki will meet for one last training session, after this we will head out towards Tetsu no tochi (Land of Iron)."

Sasori scoffed, great they were going to see the samurais: stupid, honorable, hypocritical, bastards, yet on the bright side he might get a new puppet.

"Itachi rumors are already spreading that your brother is heading towards that direction. I have been informed that he plans to attack all five Kage."

The headless ninja chuckled, "your brother really is an idiot. Blondie, how did you loss to him... again?"

Deidara growled at the jab, not attacking the immortal, because of the chakra strings attached to his joints. Whatever... if he ever gets the chance and the Uchiha ever gets over himself; he was going to kill that brat, to enjoy that fear he saw the other time. He might've promised Sasori-danna that he was going to forget everything about Itachi, but his brother was another story. Sasuke Uchiha is going to pay from escaping his greatest masterpiece of art.

Itachi sighed, he saw the light inside the bomber's eye and he knows that Sasuke was going to get one hell of a fight and he can understand were the blonde is coming from. For once his otōto (little brother) is going to have to face the consequences of his actions and treatment of people without his Aniki's (honorable older brother) help.

"No matter what his intelligence is, until he decides otherwise he is our enemy. He is, in his moronic way helping Madara achieve his goal."

Sasori tilted his head, finally realizing something. "What of Kisame?"

"He is the source of our information, once he was told by Tobi who he really is; Kisame searched for us when he felt his chakra within the statue disappear. He instinctively figured out that it had something to do with me. After I told him what is going on, Kisame offer to be a spy and gather information on Madara and how he intends to fight this war."

Deidara chuckle and he felt the chakra thread vanished; Sasori must have decided that he wasn't going to attack anybody. "It seems Fish-face does have a brain."

Konan once more looked closer at her partner. He has so many secrets yet she knows that she barely knows half of them. Years back they both lost a person that was precious to them both; in his-own way Nagato kept Yahiko alive for them both. At first she was grateful, but at times his personality and quirky humor would show. Konan understands that at that time he needed a way to move around as well that he wasn't prepare to let his best friend go. Though, throughout the years she started to fall for him; his quiet respectable, considerate attitude was what finally worm his way into her heart. It was through their shared pain that they came to understand one another perfectly. She knows the reasons way he decides to do anything and knows that people didn't know their pain would never understand.

"What did he ask for?" she inquired, knowing that not one of the Akatsuki would de anything for free.

He turned to her and gave her a steady look, his red hair hiding his powerful fearful eyes. "He wishes that when the time comes we not kill him and that we help him escape Madara's grasp."

The blue Akatsuki nodded, as well as the others with a firm nod. Pein dismissed and reminded them that they should all meet in the underground training room at ten o'clock.

"Do you ever plan on telling them?" asked Konan once they left.

"Tomorrow, when they prove themselves... we will... at last forever forget about our past."

"What do you mean, Nagato, isn't our pass the reason of who we are today?"

"Yes and it is our past that drives us, but Akatsuki cannot work as it did before. We were taken down one by one and we are at fault for listening to Madara. Especially me, I went to him when I understood Yahiko's reason s for avoiding the man. It is time for us to change our strategy and remind our members what it means to work in a team."

Konan chuckled, "what?! Next you are going to start speaking like one of those Konoha brats."

Nagato grimace, he may have come to respect Uzumaki Naruto during his final moments... but Konoha was still a village that was packed with hypocrites and liars that honestly didn't know what true peace is. What's more they train their shinobi to be full of themselves, not telling them until it is too late what it really means to be a shinobi of the village.

"That is not funny, Konan," he said in a stern voice. He turn to finally stare at her in the eyes, death didn't manage to take the light, determination, loyalty, that has kept him company for many years. If he is honest with himself, he knows that he would have fallen deeper into the darkness and insanity.

His tenshi snickered, "forgive me Nagato, it's just..."

He smirked; he would only ever let Konan tease him in such a way. She was truly the only person he trusted full heartily and could be himself with.

"Don't worry over it, Konan you really are the one person who reminds me who I truly am."

"Who are you then?"

He smirk deepen; he knows what she is doing. She wanted to know what type of man he saw himself as.

"I am a man and nothing more; a man that has made his share of mistakes, yet a man that has been given a second chance and will not waste it. I have already lived one life within darkness, but I'm a shinobi and I know that darkness is part of my life. However, perhaps even some light can co-penetrate the deepest shadows."

Konan tilted her head and looked up into his hypnotic eyes. Could he be saying what only her heart has been hoping to hear for years now?

"Nagato...?"

He heard the question in her voice and for the first time in years... he gave her a genuine smile. "Konan, will you stand by my side once more... be my partner, my equal in every aspect within my life?"

Konan smirked, she knows the type of man he is and it is a relief that didn't start to give a cliché speech. That just isn't the Nagato she knows and loves.

"I have never left your side, Nagato, and I never will."

He nodded and the small smile didn't leave his face. No matter what they will face this life will be different then the last one. This time he is going to accept the love of this marvelous woman and he is going to do everything in his power to protect her.

**-o-o-o-**

The following morning came faster than the five Akatsuki could have imagined. Today will be the day that they make their presence known to the world, but if only they knew that they would have to pass one more test for Nagato to realize their souls into the world.

As the members made their way into the basement; they waited for Pein and Konan to appear.

"Ya know, its still weird seeing Leader-sama with that blood red hair and no body piercing, hmm," stated Deidara to no one in particular. To the blonde's great annoyance he was ignored once more.

After a few minutes of silence and a silent fuming Deidara, Konan and Pein puffed into the training grounds.

"Good you are here. Today's training will determine how strong you have gotten since your ill deaths."

Itachi quirked an eyebrow, "and what shall be this test?"

Pein smirked, a smirk that would have made lesser ninja run away.

"It will be simple, I believe... an all-out spar; the five of you against me. If you can hold your own for the next half hour, then we'll start our journey to the land of Iron. If you can't... well I believe you can figure out what will happen, ne?"

Deidara smirk drop as did the others' faces turn serious. The way Pein said that left no room for the imagination. In a regular situation, this would be simple, but Pein is not an ordinary shinobi and not an ounce of their pride would let any of them run from a challenge... not even Itachi's.

"What are the limits Pein-sama?" asked Sasori.

The rinnegan wielder shrugged, "there are none, but I do hope none of you are reckless enough to do something that'll endanger your comrades' lives."

The s-class criminals turned and glared at Kakuzu and Deidara.

"Hey, I'm not that stupid... yeah!" shouted the blonde indigently.

Hidan scoffed and crossed his arms. "Could have fucking fooled me."

Sasori and Itachi sighed, how does two ever became s-rank shinobi is beyond them. Kakuzu they can understand, a lot of high rank shinobi have wild tempers: the slug-hime is a prime example of this.

"If you're done bickering, let's begin." Pein called their attention back with a bore voice.

Determination could be seen on everyone's face, none of them could resist a challenge that measured their power. With a grin that showed the insanity that within the blonde, his hand spite out a blob of clay, which quickly transformed into a bird.

Once it expanded it he jumped aboard it, "Sasori-danna, do you require a lift?"

His partner grunted, but leapt onto the flying sculpture. Pein nodded inwards, he knows that they were going to stick to their assign partners, but it'll be interesting to see how they fight with Itachi and if both teams will work together.

Sasori looked down to their leader, he wonders how serious he really was about all of this; is he aiming to kill, if he gets the chance. No matter, drawing two scrolls from his sleeves, he summons two puppets that specialized in taijutsu and defense.

"Deidara, you focus on the offense."

"Yes Danna, but how much trouble do you think we will get in if we kill Leader-sama?" asked Deidara rhetorically.

"Brat don't get arrogant!" the puppet master scolded.

Pein grunted, "listen to your partner, Deidara, first you have to hit me." He performed a serious of seals that ended with him slamming his hand on the ground.

The Iwa-nin's eyes widen, great, he just hopes that anything but the-

A dog with two heads appeared through the smoke and jumped towards the artists.

'Shit! Why the dog... un?!' Deidara thought as he maneuvered the bird away from it. As the dog landed… the light reflecting from Hidan's scythe caught its attention, unfortunately for the immortal….

Hidan's eyes widen, jumping backwards in an attempt to get away from the feral animal. "Why the fuck, are you attacking me?! I haven't fucking done anything!"

The bomber chuckled at his teammate's misfortune. "Why are you laughing?" a calm voice asked from behind him.

Deidara turned, surprised to see Pein floating but a few feet away from them. Sasori cursed as he directed his puppet towards him. Pein easily dodge the predicted assault from the wooden creations, though in the seconds that he was distracted, Deidara threw three double wings bird at him. Pein eyes narrow, however inwardly he was please that he wasn't going to have to hold back.

* * *

**The poll for who will be paired up with Sakura is still going on and at the moment there is a tie.**

**I will be taking suggestion until said otherwise. PM me, or review what who you wish to see her paired up with!**

**Well there you have it, a tad bit shorter then last time… so if you enjoyed it review and if you didn't tell me why. **


	3. HEY! Pt3

**Hello! So here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for those of you that have reviewed and voted for who to be paired up with Sakura… it is getting hot.**

**So I'm still looking for a beta and would really love the help.**

**Thank you, for everybody that has favorited, followed this story and given me their support to continue with it.**

* * *

'Thoughts'

"Dialoge"

'_Mental communication_'

_Flashbacks_

* * *

As we grow into our power

and prove ourselves

We realize who we are…

who we're prepare to become

What we will do...

and who will we fight

To survive this night!

* * *

_**Hidan's eyes widen, jumping backwards in an attempt to get away from the feral animal. "Why the fuck, are you attacking me?! I haven't fucking done anything!"**_

_**The bomber chuckled at his teammate's misfortune. "Why are you laughing?" a calm voice asked from behind him.**_

_**Deidara turned, surprised to see Pein floating but a few feet away from them. Sasori cursed as he directed his puppet towards him. Pein easily dodge the predicted assault from the wooden creations, though in the seconds that he was distracted, Deidara threw three double wings bird at him. Pein eyes narrow, however inwardly he was please that he wasn't going to have to hold back.**_

* * *

Deidara grinned when he saw his creations get into ranged. However as he formed the seal; Pein shook his head and widening his eyes murmured, "Shinra Tensei…" A second before the Iwa-nin could activate the exploding chakra within the clay birds. The birds were pushed away towards the two artists and to their misfortune they when tumbling backwards. Simultaneously, Deidara and Sasori jumped off the bird, though it took them a second to realize that they were going to collide with the wall. Before either of the two could think of something, a red skeleton hand caught them a foot from the wall. Nonetheless, the impact was hard enough that they could still feel the bruise forming.

As their feet touched the floor a frowning blond turned to a smirking Uchiha.

'I'm not going to thank him, I could've gotten out of that myself.' Deidara told himself repeatedly.

"Much appreciated, Itachi," the puppeteer said ignoring his partner's glare.

Itachi nodded, the red chakra infused skeleton grunted as debris from the roof fell on it ribcage. The area shook from the combined explosions and Pein's Shinra Tensei. Konan looked up nervously, the boys could sometimes overdo it and they are underground. Well, whatever, it's going to be their mess. Pein stared at Konoha-nin with comprehension, the Uchiha unsurprisingly had figured it out.

"Kakuzu! Damn it! Help me!" yelled Hidan at his suppose partner. The original two-headed dog was now five separate beings, all of them trying to capture the elusive ninja. The five hearts shinobi grunted, yet released two of his hearts: lightning and water. Before the dogs could jump… the thread creature flooded the area and charged it with raging volts of electricity. As the attack raged forward, Hidan jumped out of the way, cursing the idiocy of the winged dogs. The hellhounds yowled in pain, while the shinobi grimace at the pain from the eardrums.

"Kakuzu! Hidan! Control yourselves! We are not all immortal here… yeah!" called Deidara.

Hidan growled, 'stupid Blondie!'

"Deidara-chan! Shut up! You have fucking Sasori and the bastard Itachi backing you up! It's only Kakuzu and I against the twenty heathen dogs!"

"Oh! Stop your complaining Zombie-teme can't you sacrifice those stupid beasts, umm?"

"You really are an idiot! Its not that fucking simple, Deidara-chan!"

A tick appeared on Sasori, Kakuzu and Itachi's foreheads.

"Brat, shut your yapping! If you don't will leave this for you to handle."

"Don't be rash, Sasori, not one of us could survive this on our own." Itachi pointed out as he made his way towards the artists.

Kakuzu scoffed, "you being humble is an unusual site, Itachi."

The Uchiha smirked, "not really… I'm just stating facts. You must all realize that Pein-sama is our leader for a reason."

"So what do you recommend, oh wise Itachi-taicho, hmm?"

Itachi looked down at their youngest member. "We must attack as a whole. We have to see what our true strength as a unit is…." He turned towards the dodging zombie-nin. "Is there anyway that you two can get away from that beast?"

The white hair ninja glared as another dog tried to bite his head off. "What the fuck do you think we have been trying to do, you stupid bitch?!"

"Very well… Sasori…?"

The puppeteer sneered "already on it…" as a swarm of chakra threads wrapped around the eight massive dogs, holding them in place.

The Jashinist scowled, "couldn't you have done that since the start?! You heathen puppet!"

Pei stood a few feet from his subordinates, observing how they interacted with each other. They argued, they complained, yet how they managed to work together and come up with a strategy on how to beat their enemy. He has said it before and he will say it again; "what troublesome fellows they are."

"As entertaining as this is, you five still haven't manage to get a scratch on me. You are supposed to be the greatest shinobi throughout the nations and if you want to have the right to call yourselves Akatsuki, than show it to me! You only have 30 minutes left."

Kakuzu and Hidan joined the other three. Now none of them would admit it out loud, every single one of them understands the pride there is in being able to call them selves Akatsuki. Even Itachi, who may avoid violence and kept his alliance to his home village; the arrogance and pride of a shinobi/Uchiha are still part of the genjutsu master.

"Sasori, how long can you keep those beast there?" Kakuzu asked, not enjoying Pein's small gloating. The brat really did have a lot of nerve.

"Long enough to remind him why he choose us to be Akatsuki," the Suna-nin murmured, hiding the fact that he was grinding his teeth in concentration. "Itachi, don't overdo it…."

The Uchiha nodded.

"Brat! You and Hidan create a distraction, Itachi…."

"Already on it," he repeated his words back to him. His eyes flickering towards the puppeteer, they did not have much time left. The hyperactive idiots nodded a leapt into action. Deidara was smirking, because he wasn't going to have to be careful with his partner. Hidan's immortality does have it perks… at times.

Hidan threw his scythe at the waiting redhead, perhaps if he were to capture him within his curse it would shut Leader-sama up.

Pein dodged the scythe and reminded himself to keep a ready eye for the blonde bomber, he was the really threat in this pair. However, to everybody's shock… spears of harden stone race towards Pein.

"Doton: Doryūso (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears)!" exclaimed Deidara, holding the bird seal as he knelt down. It wasn't often that Deidara would demonstrate his mastery in Doton (Earth) jutsus. It was such a scarce occasion they normally forget about his wide arsenal of Doton jutsus.

When the spears were half a meter (50 inches) from Pein, he smirked, "Shinra Tensei!"

The spears went flying towards Sasori.

Before Sasori could blink, "Doton: Doryūheki (Earth-Style Wall)!" a wall of earth rouse up. The spears broke on impact. Deidara looked at the wall with a grin. It would seem that his Doton jutsu weren't as rusty as he had believed. Sasori incline his head in a silent thanks, he knew that the act Deidara normally put on was just that… an act.

Not giving anybody time to recover, Pein threw himself at Deidara in attempt to start a taijutsu battle. However, and much to the blonde's dismay, Itachi blocked Pein's attack… managing to push the older shinobi back into Kakuzu's thread monsters' attack. As Pein discarded the monsters, Itachi gathered his chakra and ready himself for an attack. Pein pushed the creatures away from him, both crumbling as they hit the wall.

When Pein stood up straight, ready for the next attack, he unfortunately meet Itachi's stare. Without a second thought, the redhead adverted his eyes… not even with his rinnegan was he immune to sharingan genjutsus.

Itachi smirked, noticing at what part of his body Pein was looking at. Before Pein could realize his mistake, Itachi's chakra spiked as he directed it to his twitching figure. The illusion was instantaneous , the Uzumaki frown at being caught in such a simple genjutsu.

"I would have thought this to be impossible," stated the genjutsu master.

"Gloating does not become you," the rinnegan wielder drawled.

"I was just stating a fact."

Pein grunted.

"Though it would seem that you are already disrupting your chakra flow."

The rinnegan wielder didn't answer, though Itachi didn't need him to. Pein decided to just stall as his chakra broke through his.

"Tell me what was the point in this."

Itachi stayed quiet focusing on his chakra, he had to buy the others more time.

"If I recall from your previous jutsu, it will seem that minutes or even hours have past and we have been battling none stop. Be that way, it will only seem as only seconds have past for the others, not enough time for them to pass through my instinctual defenses."

To the annoyance of the Uchiha, the genjutsu broke away. The training ground appeared around them, it was in ruins. It was obvious that Konan had to have dodged a number of renegade jutsus.

Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu were panting on the far side of the room. Itachi shunshined (Body Flickered) next to the zombie combo, he gave the trio a questioning look.

"We did it, yeah!" grinned the Iwa-nin.

Their leader tilted his head, wondering what they were talking about.

"What of Sasori-san," asked Itachi. His ANBU instincts kicked in, evaluating his team's statues.

Hidan chuckled, "look for your self," he pointed to their left.

Pein and Itachi glance at the puppeteer, both shinobi freezing in shock. There the dogs lay, looking at Sasori with complete obedience, ignoring the silent commands that Pein was giving them. The bright redhead looked up and smirked gloatingly at the rinnegan wielder.

Leader-sama turned to Konan who gave him a faint smile and nodded. She had witness the whole battle and truly the strength of Akatsuki is to be feared. Nagato while his consciousness was trapped in Itachi genjutsu fought of the attacks of the others. Nonetheless, there was a large wound across his chest, not even Konan could tell him who ultimately gave the winning blow.

Pein canceled the summoning before the puppet master could manipulate them any further. Honestly, it was one of his favorite summonings.

"Very well," he murmured as he released the last seal on his members. The five Akatsuki grunted in slight pain.

"What the Jashin was that?!"

Pein shrugged, "you five pass."

"What the fucking hell are you talking about, Leader!"

"There was a seal upon you that linked you back with the netherworld, this training session was to see if I could trust you." Explained the redhead.

Sasori hated to admit it, but he could understand where Pein was coming from. "So what have you decided?"

"You five have my complete trust and because of this I shall at last destroy completely the persona of Pein. From now on you shall call me Nagato-sama; that is my true name. The name that connects me to the pain of my past."

Deidara sighed, "do us a favor, Nagato-sama… no more secrets, umm."

Nagato half smirked, "indeed Deidara; this time we will do things differently. We might never trust the villages again, but we will find a way to trust in each other."

Konan, Deidara, Sasori, Kakuzu and Hidan nodded, what could they say to that? This was there chance at a new life and none of them were bound to their past. Even Kakuzu knew that even though he might hate these brats that are part of this organization. They are the only people who may ever understand him.

"Will you limit us?" wondered Sasori.

He really didn't have any desire to stop with his human puppets, as he knew that Deidara still carried the same bloodlust, insanity and love for explosions inside of him. Even Hidan, his sacrifices are his existence; he will enjoy the kill for the rest of his life.

Pein stood silent for a couple of seconds, thinking over the climatic question. He knew that these shinobi were dangerous and would never be accepted within a normal society. Though it is because of how the world can't accept the monsters that it creates that so much conflict exists. They are all products of the world's hidden pain and hate.

"No Sasori, you are free to who you are, in this village, in this organization we will not hide who we are or the demons that we each carry."

Konan hid her frown, this was sure to bring trouble for them in the future. She wasn't the only thinking this, Itachi closed his eyes. It was official… he was just not meant to have a normal, tranquil life.

"Rest for the day, tonight we shall begin our journey to Tetsu (Iron)." Nagato said, dismissing them. "Deidara before you leave… clean up this room. The foundation seems to have weakened because of our battle."

"Huh? That's not fair! Why can't Kakuzu do it?!" complained the blonde.

Nagato stopped, Konan was but a few feet away from him. "Because as you have reminded us, you are the Doton expert… are you not?" he laughed inwardly

"Umm… I mean… yes, yeah."

Hidan laughed as they all left, "we want it nice and shiny, Deidara-chan!"

"Oi! Fuck off, yeah!" the Iwa-nin flipped him off.

The Jashinist's laugh echoed down the stairs, life really wasn't fair. He so damn tire, but for a stupid reason sleep evaded him for the last few days. The blonde sighed, his life truly sucked at times.

Night came sooner then Deidara wanted, he was barely able to get his clay ready. If it hadn't been for Sasori-danna, he wouldn't have even woken up in time. Damn it, for the first night in a week he was able to get some shuteye and his Danna just had to wake him up. He had almost blown the base up in pure irritation.

The group had been traveling none stop for the past 6 hours, reaching the boarder between Kī no Tochi (the Land of Keys) and Ishi no Tochi (the Land of Stone). No one within the group dared complained, this was nothing compared to their usual travels. Anyway they had Kages to catch up to… the summit was sure not to be dull.

**-o-o-o-**

Tsunade walked calmly through Chikyū no kuni (Earth Country) with Hatake Kakashi and Shiranui Genma as her guards. It had been by luck that she woken up from her coma just in time for the Raikage's stupid summit. Of course, now that his brother was taken he gives a damn… for the last year Gaara and her have been bugging him that they had to do something about the Akatsuki.

She sighed, they have been traveling at a steady pace for the past 3 days and they still had half the distance to go. To her utter displeasure her companions weren't the talkative type, but they were the best at what they do. As the trio past a particular rock figure, the three high-ranked shinobi stopped; something was coming their way.

They only had to wait a few seconds for the two ANBUs to jump in front of them.

"Tsunade-sama… we know that this isn't the best time, but something has come up." The porcelain cat masked shinobi reported.

Kakashi sighed, "just spite it out. The other Kages won't be happy if we are late."

"Never thought I would see the day that you would want to be on time for something," drawled Genma.

"I'm just trying to avoid any unnecessary conflict," shrugged Kakashi.

Tsunade grunted in frustration, "report!"

The ANBU nodded. "It has been several days since the last report from the shinobi that were sent to Amegakure. We've sent a squad in order to see what is going on, but as they neared the villages boarder… they came in contact with Pein's chakra rain."

The Godaime's eyes narrowed, how was this possible. Pein was supposed to be dead… could… perhaps another shinobi be capable of such a jutsu? "Has it been confirmed that it was his chakra?"

The other ANBU lowered his head. "Forgive me, Ojō-sama (my lady), my team wasn't able to get close enough for an exact confirmation. My Hyūga team member informed us that we had been spotted the moment that we entered the village. We were barely able to get back here."

Kakashi tilted his head. "Who was it that pursued you?"

"Ame shinobi, though something was different about them. At least different from how they were when we invaded the village."

"Different how…?"

"They were… more determined…they at least have overcome their grief for their vile leaders."

The temperamental Hokage nodded. She stilled couldn't believe how Amegakure worshipped the Akatsuki; as though if they were peaceful gods. That really is an amusing thought, but she could not think of anybody else that could have an interest in that depressing village.

The Hokage nodded, very well… they'll have to wait and see what was to happen. 'I can't wait to tell the other Kages,' she thought sarcastically.

"Alright, go back to the village. We will decide what to do after the summit. I'll also have to speak with the Kazekage, his shinobi are also involve." She ordered.

"Hai, Ojō-sama!" the ANBU said in unison, disappearing a puff of smoke.

Tsunade turned to the copy-nin. "What do you make of this?"

Kakashi remained silent and brought out his perverted book. A tick appeared on Tsunade's forehead; why is she surrounded by perverts! Even Genma is a persistent flirt that at times she wonders if he is even serious about Shizune, though for his sake; he better not even think of breaking her heart. It will most definitely be something he regrets.

"Something is going on, if it's good or bad… only time can tell, Hokage-sama."

"Hai, Kakashi is right, though no matter what we can handle it. We've already taken down the Akatsuki, what can be worse then them?"

"Baka! You just jinxed it?" Tsunade grounded out in anger, refraining from hitting him on the head.

"Gomen, Godaime Hokage," Genma coward recognizing the look in her eyes.

"Baka," she murmured as she decided to pick up the pace. This summit was going to be anything but boring.

**-o-o-o-**

The days past without much trouble; the most interesting thing that had happened had been when an idiotic group of bandits decided that they would be a good target. It, of course, was their last mistake. Sasori was now carrying a semi-dead nuke-nin (missing ninja) from Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village), all this because a request from Nagato. The puppet master closed his eyes, he could already guess what Nagato's plan will be and it was obvious that he did not trust Kages.

The Suna-nin hugged his cloak tighter around his body, it was a day ago that they hit Tetsu no tochi's boarders. The cold was really getting on his nerves, being from Sunagakure wasn't really in his favor, and not even the Akatsuki cloak was really helping the ex-puppet. 'Damn cloak and it worthless jutsu…'

Deidara snickered at his partner's expense, since they had meet, his partner had always had the advantage of not feeling or having the normal physical weaknesses of a human….

"Brat, shut up!" the puppeteer growled. The amusement on the blonde's face was annoying him more then the cold.

"Sasori-danna, I haven't said anything." Deidara said innocently.

The puppet master stared daggers at him. He was really enjoying this way too much.

"Leader-sama! Are we fucking there yet?!" called out Hidan. He had been playing this game for the last two hours, asking Nagato the same pointless question every 10 minutes.

Kakuzu growled, "Hidan… we'll get there when we get there! Annoying the rest of us isn't going to be fruitful for your health."

The immortal grinned, he really was a masochistic idiot.

"Why Kakuzu, do you care?!"

"No! I just know that I will be forced to put you back together."

Nagato turned towards his bickering members, "do not worry about it, Kakuzu. We would just leave him here and pick him up on our way back."

Hidan paled as the others stared at Nagato dumbstruck, since when does he have a sense of humor?

Deidara chuckled and patted the pale shinobi back. "You heard the man, if I were you… I'd shut up, hmm!"

As the words sunk in, Hidan turned on the Iwa-nin. "Why you arrogant bitch! In Jashin's name I will kill you!"

The blonde snorted, "with your speed…? Not likely!"

The Jashinist glared and reached for his scythe. Deidara smirked, he has been egging for a fight since the bandits' attack. He reached into his pouch and began molding his clay. Unfortunately for the blonde, Hidan stopped his attack half way.

"Aaah! Sasori-danna, why? I've been so fucking bored this past few days!" Deidara complained, pouting at the redhead.

"Brat! Silence! We've arrived." Informed Sasori, tightening his chakra threads around the immortal's neck.

"Kakuzu! H-help…m-me!" he managed to speak out.

"You should have seen this coming, Baka." Chided the masked-nin.

Deidara smirked, 'yeah he should've… Sasori-danna and me might fight three-quarters of the time, but when it came down to it, he always had his back and vice versa.'

Sasori looked at the brat, helping him and watch out for him came second nature to him now. Honestly, the only time they had ever split up during one of their missions… had surprisingly ended up with his death.

"Come along you four… you'll et the opportunity to antagonize a fresh bash o shinobi in a couple of minutes." Stated Itachi dryly as he passed the group.

The chakra threads disappeared and Hidan rubbed his neck. The puppet master hasn't lost his touch, much to his inconvenience.

"Ah Itachi, you know that if Kisame were here… you would be as involved as the rest of us." Hidan taunted.

Itachi ignored the pink eye shinobi and took his sit next to Nagato.

Nagato nodded, not surprised that Itachi has already figured out his plan.

"Sasori-san, unseal the Kumo-nin," ordered Nagato.

Rolling his eyes and pushing the almost fight out of his mind, he took out a scroll and unrolled it in front of the Uzumaki; with a couple of seals the shinobi appeared and laid motionless. The puppeteer sighed for this to work the body was going to have to be in a better condition. Forming the tiger seal, he focused his chakra and healed the shinobi's major injuries using, "Shōsen Jutsu (Mystical Palm Technique)".

As he finished, Deidara, Kakuzu and Hidan took their places in the circle. Sasori followed, sitting between the blonde and Uchiha, no need for any more fights.

Nagato looked at the shinobi and activated his Deva Path, "Shōten no jutsu (Impersonation Jutsu)", sending 30% of his chakra to the body. The Kumo-nin swiftly took the appearance of Nagato, down to the eyes and everything. An exact copy… it was a useful jutsu, but brutal on the victim.

"Perfect… now my clone will make its way towards the summit. When he has the attention of the Kages and Mifune, we'll activate the jutsu. We will appear and make our case, after that we'll leave." He explained.

There was a chores of 'hai's and the Akatsuki focused on restoring their chakra reserves to full power for the upcoming encounter. Nagato's clone stood up and started running towards the 3 Yama o hodoku (Three Wolves Mountain). The Kages were in for a big surprise.

* * *

**Well there you have it… the end to the first Arc, if any of you didn't notice the name HEY! from the band Flow:**

**I was violent, rather than wait for the morning light**

**Everyone is struggling, I'm sure everyone is**

**Kick hard at the darkness once more….**

**Some of the translated lyrics of the song that fit some of the themes from these last three chapters. So the next arc will start soon and so will the Kage summit… oh what is to come?!**

**So review and if you want your voice to be counted tell me who should be paired with Sakura… there's still time.**


	4. The Audience Pt1

**All right all you Naruto/Akatsuki fans here is the beginning to the next arc, of course of the things come directly from the Manga and Anime… but it is the Kages' Summit. So hope you enjoy it.**

**I'm still in the search for a Beta if anybody is will to voluntary. Plus I would like to thank all of you who have followed, favorited or reviewed/voted. The Sakura/? Has not been decided and you can still vote. Anyway for all of you who have been wondering, these are the results at the moment:**

**Itachi- 8**

**Sasori- 6**

**Hidan- 4**

**Kakuzu- 3**

**Kisame- 3**

**Deidara- 2**

**So enough of my ranting and here is the next chapter.**

* * *

The table is being set.

The future is yet undecided,

but a picture is being created.

If it'll be to our liking…

or will it show our destruction.

The future is still to be seen.

* * *

**_Nagato looked at the shinobi and activated his Deva Path, "Shōten no jutsu (Impersonation Jutsu), sending 30% of his chakra to the body. The Kumo-nin swiftly took the appearance of Nagato, down to the eyes and everything. An exact copy… it was a useful jutsu, but brutal on the victim._**

**_"Perfect… now my clone will makes its way towards to the summit. When he has the attention of the Kages and Mifune, we'll activate the jutsu. We will appear and make our case, after that we'll leave." He explained._**

**_There was a chores of 'hai's and the Akatsuki focused on restoring their chakra reserves to full power for the upcoming encounter. Nagato's clone stood up and started running towards the 3 Yama o hodoku (Three Wolves Mountain). The Kages were in for a big surprise._**

* * *

The five Kages sat around a U-shaped table facing Mifune, their guards stood behind their nation's flag… keeping a watchful eye on anything that might threaten their leader.

"I, Mifune, will preside over these procedures and now… let the Five Kage Summit commence!" stated an elderly man with bandages wrapped around the top of his head.

"Then allow me to begin," a stoic deep voice spoke up. "Listen…"

"My, my, how the Kage have change." A small old man interrupted. "To be named Kage at your young age is quite impressive, Kazekage-sama. Yet, despite your father's obviously brilliant guidance… he seems to not have taught you any etiquette."

Gaara narrowed his eyes, but other than that didn't show any sign that the comment had affected him. "Yes… probably… that is why I was chosen as Kazekage."

Ōnoki started to laugh maniacally. "You certainly are cocky."

"Tsuchikage-sama," a female voice called Ōnoki's attention. "Please, don't interrupt anymore," the Mizukage turned to Gaara. "Please continue, Kazekage-sama."

"I am a former jinchūriki, the Akatsuki captured me, and they took my bijū (Tailed-Beast) and was nearly killed." Gaara said as though Ōnoki hadn't interrupted him. "That is why I consider the Akatsuki an extremely dangerous group. I sought the aid of the Five Kage many times, but was ignored, except for the Hokage. Jinchūriki from all the nations have been taken… and to collaborate at this point… is simple too little too late."

The Tsuchikage grunted as Tsunade held her head high. She had nothing to be ashamed of.

"The Five Great Nations' Hidden Villages can't afford to alert others that their jinchūriki was taken," Ōnoki chided. "it's an embarrassment! Covert rescue and recovery is the norm, no one seeks aid from other lands when a jinchūriki disappears."

Gaara lifted his head slightly, "appearances… and statue… such foolish out dated concepts."

"Hn," the Tsuchikage scowled. "Such a brat!"

"Setting aside whether those beliefs are out dated or not, I will admit that as Mizukage, I refrained from acting on this issue. However, I don't believe that having our bijūs stolen calls for immediate alarm, after all it still takes significant skills, knowledge and time to achieve control over them." The Mizukage reasoned.

"A jinchūriki needs to mature along side with the beast to adapt with one another, and even then control remains difficult. It's not a simple task. Isn't that so, Kazekage-sama?" added Ōnoki.

Gaara ignored the jab.

"Very few have been able to control their bijū: Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashimara, Yodaime Mizukage Yagura and Raikage-sama's otōto Killer B." Tsunade spoke for the first time.

The Raikage clenched his fist, Ao noticed this immediately. "Chōjūrō!"

"Hai!" the young swordsman reached for his weapon.

Temari took action as well.

A giant fist smashed into the table, the Raikage screamed, "Enough of this non-sense!" calling everybody's attention. The guards took stands in front of their Kage. The room stood still filled with a tense silent.

Mifune sighed, "This summit is a place of discourse, so please refrain from any behavior that lacks civility."

"Stand down, Kakashi-san, Genma-san," Tsunade was the first to order.

The two men looked back at her uncertain.

Gaara soon followed, "you too, Kankuro, Temari."

"Ao, Chōjūrō, it's all right," said Mei calmly.

"Yes, ma'am" responded Ao.

Ōnoki tilted his head back and grunted.

The Raikage's hand was deep within the wooden table, with a grunt he threw himself back down to his chair. The guards leapt back taking their places up in the balcony with less subtlety.

"Lets continue our discussion," directed Mifune.

"Konohagakure, Iwagakure, Sunagakure and Kirigakure; the Akatsuki membership is composed of nuke-nin from your villages. That's not all even, from our investigations, we know that among you and the earlier Kage there are those who even used the Akatsuki." The Raikage growled.

Gaara lifted his head in surprise, "the Kage used them?!"

"That's why I don't trust any of you! I have no interest in discourse, but the reason I summoned you all to this summit is to ultimately question your loyalty!" finished A.

"What do you mean, 'used' the Akatsuki?" asked Gaara.

"You are the Kazekage, yet you don't know anything?" disbelief was evident in A's voice. "Just ask your village elders back home. You of Suna have previously used the Akatsuki in battle!" accused A.

Ōnoki leaned back, "currently all Five Great Nations are equally stable. They are moving from military expansion to disarmament. As strain relationships ease and the strain of war diminishes. Military villages become a liability on a country's resources, but there's a risk. What if a war suddenly breaks out? They can't rely on untested ninjas in the heat of battle. They'd loose the war!"

The Kazekage's eyes narrowed, "so one way of dealing with that was to use a mercenary force… like Akatsuki?"

"It would take time and money for a village to build such a force themselves. But Akatsuki, which made war its livelihood, and is made up of experienced professionals. Furthermore, they can be hired rather cheaply. Best of all, their soldiers have always deliver superior results." Ōnoki defended.

"I don't want to hear it, Tsuchikage!" exclaimed A.

"Humph…."

A continued, "Suna used Akatsuki to try and destroy Konoha. Orochimaru, though it is unclear whether he was still a member of Akatsuki at the time! Both the former Kazekage and Hokage ended up dying. I can't help but think that must have been part of someone's plot."

"Are you implying something, Raikage!" demanded Tsunade. "Do not forget that the Sadaime was my sensei!"

The Raikage scoffed, "I'm not speaking of you Hokage, but of one of your council members." 'The old fox…' Though A turned to the Mizukage. "Kirigakure, you are the most suspicious! You have had no diplomatic relations with other countries… and there are rumors that Akatsuki was formed there!"

The Mizukage looked down, "to tell you the truth…"

Ao's eye widened in shock, 'is she really going to…!'

"There were suspicions that my predecessor," Mei continued, "the Yodaime Mizukage was being controlled by someone. It could have been Akatsuki, but I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

The Raikage growled, "You all…!"

Ōnoki looked up in anger. "Watch your tongue, Raikage! It's because you were continuing to amass power and techniques during this time of disarmament that other countries were forced to hire Akatsuki in the first place!"

"What?!" the Raikage burst.

Tsunade glared, "That is right, Raikage-sama. Your village isn't as innocent as you are making it out to be. Did you not try to steal the Hyuga's Byakugan under the pretext of a peace treaty?"

Before the Raikage could retort, a chuckle was heard from down the hall. "Your squabbling is quiet amusing, though I wonder how you ever get things done." The man said in a deep voice as he stepped into the room.

The Kage stared at the man in shock, Kankuro and Temari were the first to move, jumping in front of Gaara; both siblings identifying his cloak.

'The rinnegan, so it does exist.'

'Now who is this person… I was told that the rinnegan wielder was dead.'

'They dare to…! I'll kill him!'

'So this is Akatsuki, they sure are bold.'

'But how…? Naruto killed him?!'

Mifune looked at the man in shock, how did he get passed the samurai?

"Brat! What is the meaning of this? You are supposed to be dead!" screamed Tsunade.

Nagato didn't even flinch. "That I am, but here I am and I came with a proposal for you Kage."

Kankuro narrowed his eyes, "and why should we listen to anything you have to say?"

The Akatsuki shrugged and formed the ram seal. The shinobi and samurai tensed, waiting to see what he was about to do. As his chakra flared 7 transparent forms appeared behind him each one emitting their own chakra signature.

"Now that we've all gather, we shall begin."

The Kage looked at the forms with mild curiosity.

"You truly are foolish to come here, at the presences of the Five Kage, after everything you have done!" called out the Raikage.

"Fucking Kage is blind!" taunted the form with pink eyes.

That comment was the last straw for the Raikage, he charged towards their unwanted guests. Nagato sighed and not prepared to show his entire hand jumped out of the way at the last second. Darui and C stared in shock, but what surprised everyone more was when A ran through the chakra forms.

Ao's eye narrowed, "Raikage-sama that was pointless those 7 are not even here."

A tall form chuckled, "Ao you have improve with that Byakugan."

Said ninja eyes widened, he could recognize that voice and small beady eyes anywhere. "Hoshigaki Kisame!"

"That would be me," Ao could swear that the shark-nin was grinning. "Kid good to see you in one piece."

Chōjūrō looked at his companion surprised, he had no clue that Ao was so familiar with an Akatsuki member.

A chakra form revealed twin bright red eyes answered, "Kisame, I do believe that this is not the time or place."

Tsunade eyes narrowed, she knew those eyes. "Uchiha Itachi, I received reports that your brother killed you."

Gaara walked passed his brother and sister. "What is going on here… I can easily feel Deidara and Sasori's chakra presence. They have also been reported dead."

Kurotsuchi's head snapped up, big brother Deidara, so the Uchiha didn't succeed.

Deidara laughed, "we have many tricks up our sleeves, yeah." He said arrogantly.

Akatsuchi clenched his jaw, same old Deidara, though it was a relief to hear that he was alive.

"So it seems Deidara, but what is it that you want?" Ōnoki asked his former student.

Deidara looked at their obvious leader, it amazed Ōnoki that the stubborn brat would show respect towards anybody.

Nagato noticed everybody's attention on him. "We share a common enemy and it would be in your best interest to have us as your allies."

"And who would this enemy be?" asked Tsunade before the rest of what he said sunk in.

The Akatsuki tensed up, "Uchiha Madara."

The room fell silent, the Kages' eyes widened.

"I thought he was long dead.?!" The Tsuchikage protested.

A tall chakra form with green eyes grunted, "I would've that that with Orochimaru you lot would've learn that there are forms to evade death. Isn't that correct, Tsunade-hime?"

Tsunade glared at the unknown shinobi, she hated that suffix and really who was he to call her by it. Though, now wasn't the time….

"Why would you fight with us, I thought your goal was to destroy the shinobi village?" asked Mei steeping forward.

"We could care less what happens to you Great Nations, but when Madara finds out we are alive. He'll come after us and staying hidden won't work for all of us." The small chakra form with amber eyes, said matter-of-factly giving a pointed look at the blue-eyed form.

Deidara noticed the stare and whined, "Aaah Sasori-danna, that's not fair! Being quiet is so boring, yeah!"

The Iwas' shinobi eyes widened, 'Master', who the Kami is that shinobi and what did he do to earn the blonde's respect.

Mifune exhaled, he could already see what the Akatsuki was planning and to be honest it was a brilliant plan… but would the Kages' go for it.

The Kazekage's expression blanked, "so what is it that you are proposing?"

Nagato smirked, "the Five Great Villages will have to form a five village alliance."

The Raikage recovered from his surprise and sneered. "An alliance.?!"

Tsunade glared at the Uzumaki, "hate to admit it… but the brat has a point. Madara is too strong, if what they say is true… not even my grandfather could defeat him."

Mifune looked intently at the shinobi. "Yes, but the chain of command should be uniform. We want to avoid any further confusion."

The Tsuchikage glared, "so the question is who will have authority over this new army?"

The Akatsuki and Mifune frowned, predicting that an argument was about to start.

"You will only fight amongst your selves, so I would like you to respect my position as a neutral party. I will decide who among you is best suited for the job."

Sasori snorted inwardly, 'what an honorable little samurai he is.'

Deidara chuckled, guessing his partner's thoughts.

"No!" A exclaimed, "no one from my village is involved with Akatsuki!" He sent a disgusted sneer at said organization. "I am the only one trustworthy enough to…."

The Godaime Hokage burst out in humorless laughter. "Do not make me laugh Raikage, you and your village are no more trustworthy. Furthermore, it might be true that some amount of passion and power is necessary to lead so many powerful warriors." She pointed looked at the splinter hole in the table, "but someone like you who lets his emotions control him will destroy the alliance as surely as you destroyed that table."

A clenched his jaw, Mifune decided to add his two cents. "I have not spoken my choice yet, Raikage-sama, though Hokage-sama does make a point."

Ōnoki grimace, "so what? Are you going to pick the Slug-hime?"

Mifune gave a firm nod, "it is the last village that has its Tailed-Beast."

Kisame coughed uncomfortably and drew the attention to him-self. "That is not true… the Hachibi (Eight Tails) jinchūriki is still free. He tricked us with a very impressive clone."

"What?!" the Raikage screamed.

"Yes… your brother is still alive Raikage." Nagato confirmed in a monotonous voice, bored with all this political nonsense.

A bristled, his brother was out there and had taken this as an opportunity to play hokey; not bothering to leave a sign that he was alive and permitted the village to go into mayhem searching for him. A yelled and punched the table again, not caring that he was proving the Hokage's point.

The Akatsuki leader looked at the destroyed table and sighed. "The samurai's choice is sound, but for more reasons than he is not willing to say. The Hokage is the best choice," said Nagato fearlessly at the village leaders. "The Kazekage is too young to lead," Gaara's frown deepened. "The other countries will never accept it. Even addressing him as Kazekage is hard for some. The Tsuchikage on the other hand is too old and is seen as having mobility problems." Ōnoki glared daggers at the redhead. "Furthermore, he has been used by Madara and myself too many times… he is the least trustworthy. Kirigakure is most likely the place where Madara is hiding. If the Mizukage were in charge, there would be worries about information leaks." Mei looked down at the table. "There would be concern about spies too."

Tsunade suppressed the urge to smirk, having the leader of Akatsuki speak on her behalf wasn't really a good thing. "And what of you… how do we know that any of you are slightly trustworthy? Why are you at all interested in this matter?"

The chakra form that looked as though it had a flower on its head sighed. 'How the villages ever got anything done was a real mystery. All these politics are a pain.'

"All of us personally have a bone to pick with Madara… either way he will come after us sooner or later. It would be to both of our advantage for Madara to go down. Anyway, this will give some of our members something to distract themselves with."

Tsunade grimaced at the woman's response, it was obvious that this group of shinobi worked with a completely different set of rules then they did.

"So tell us, what was your plan with the bijū?" Kankuro dared to ask.

The Akatsuki saw the fear in his eyes and grinned. Temari had to resist the urge to step in front of her brother, blocking them from their predatory gazes.

Nagato stared at the shinobi without any emotion in his eyes. "Our goal was to bring peace to all the shinobi villages by using the power of the bijū to create an Ultimate Jutsu that would have forced the villages to stop seeking conflict."

Temari as hard as she tried couldn't hide the horror she felt at such an idea.

"Why would any of you agree to such a plan?"

Not one of the chakra forms answered her question for a moment or two, and as the village shinobi began to think that they wouldn't say anymore on the topic… the form with the amber eyes spoke.

"I cannot speak for everybody here, but we can all partially agree that it was because of revenge… one way or another our villages betrayed us and ultimately left us to fend for ourselves."

Sasori's partner snorted sarcastically, "Isn't that right… Ōnoki-sensei?"

The Kages turn to mentioned man in shock… they could all understand how cruel the inner workings of a Hidden Village could be, but to turn on his own student was unheard of.

"Deidara-nii-san, it wasn't Ojī-chan's (Grandpa's) fault!" defended Kurotsuchi. It wasn't till she looked at Ōnoki that she noticed everybody was staring at her.

Temari was the first one to find her voice, "did you just say that he is your brother?!"

Kurotsuchi glared at them, while Deidara laughed at her expense.

"I'm not related to that teme, I just know him from a long time ago… and unfortunately old habits die hard." The spiteful girl explained.

"Kurotsuchi… you still know… nothing!" the blonde said between laughs.

Ōnoki growled, 'yes what had happen with the brat was one of my greatest regrets. However, he doesn't like to bring it up.'

"Enough of this, you bunch still haven't given us a reason as to why we should trust you! How do we know that you wont go stabbing us in the back?"

"Yes! You have all brought destruction and pain into our villages!" demanded Tsunade, thinking back to Pein's invasion.

"And have killed hundreds of innocent without remorse," added Gaara. "What guaranty can you give us that you wont take this as an opportunity to attack the villages?"

Unfortunately, none of their question could be answered as an object erupted from the floor in a cloud of smoke. The Kages and guards jumped in to battle stands. The Akatsuki didn't make a move and decided to see what was to happen.

"Helloooo!" exclaimed an annoying, overly cheery voice that was all too familiar to the Akatsuki. Deidara couldn't help but groan at the horrid memories.

"What now..?" yelled the Raikage.

A half-plant/half human man appeared through the smoke… the Akatsuki noted that he was missing his black half. It was just a clone.

"Uchiha Sasuke, is somewhere…here!" taunted the white freak, turning and noticing the chakra forms. "Well Pein… what have you done now? Madara-sama won't be please!" he added mockingly.

The Raikage roared and flashed over to the plant man. "WHERE IS UCHIHA SASUKE?!"

'He's… he's so fast!' smirked Zetsu, "Well… I'll give you a hint…."

The Raikage snapped his neck before Zetsu could finish.

He Tsuchikage smirked smugly. "Well that answers that… one of your members is attacking the summit. Raikage-sama you should've thanked that thing before killing it."

Kisame snorted, "That arrogant brat has never been part of Akatsuki."

"He is but a pawn in Madara's game," added another figure… red eyes narrowing.

The female looked at the leader and he gave her a curt nod. '_Everybody…_' he sent the order through the link created by the rings.

Without another word, the chakra forms flickered out… the Kages glared at the rinnegan wielder. Nagato, not giving them an ounce of consideration began to form a complex series of seals.

**-o-o-o-**

Back in the clearing where their corporal bodies were meditated, they all snapped their eyes open.

"Everybody, prepare… my clone is about to finish the summoning," informed Nagato.

Swiftly and with a speed that only comes with practice they gathered their supplies. Deidara was smirking and already molding his clay.

"Itachi! Kisame will remain where he is, you will be teamed up with Sasori and Deidara. You'll also have the mission of going after your brother… Itachi be warned that if you can't reason with him, we will have to eliminate him."

Itachi's eyes narrowed, though he didn't like the idea of killing his brother… he nodded.

With a look over his subordinates, he closed his eyes and felt his chakra surge.

* * *

**Well there you have it and you should know the drill by now… review if you liked it review if you didn't!**

**And don't forget to vote for who shall be paired up with Sakura… PM me or review! There still time for you vote for your favorite character!**

**Till' next week… oh and for all SasuSaku fans out there the latest chapter of Naruto 685, really frustrated me but should be a thrill for you. -_-**


	5. The Audience Pt2

**Oki my pretties, here is the next chapter: the confrontation between the Akatsuki, Sasuke and Madara… hehehe.**

**So I'll thank all of you that have reviewed, followed or favorited this fic.**

**Itachi- 9**

**Sasori- 8**

**Hidan- 5**

**Kakuzu- 4**

**Kisame- 3**

**Deidara-2**

* * *

When old foes meet….

Fate is undecided.

If life will continue,

and pass sins shall be forgotten.

The truth is uncertain,

and will our people survive this threat…

that is to come.

* * *

_**"Everybody, prepare… my clone is about to finish the summoning," informed Nagato.**_

_**Swiftly and with a speed that only comes with practice they gathered their supplies. Deidara was smirking and already molding his clay.**_

_**"Itachi! Kisame will remain where he is, you will be teamed up with Sasori and Deidara. You'll also have the mission of going after your brother… Itachi be warned that if you can't reason with him, we will have to eliminate him."**_

_**Itachi's eyes narrowed, though he didn't like the idea of killing his brother… he nodded.**_

_**With a look over his subordinates, he closed his eyes and felt his chakra surge.**_

* * *

At the summit, five clouds of smoke appeared around the redhead. As it cleared up, Tsunade could easily start making out, who the new intruders were.

Kakashi's eyes widened as all the notorious S-class criminals they had painstakingly defeated stood in front of them with complete ease.

"Deidara, Sasori, search for his presence." Nagato ordered, keeping a close eye on the Kages, their guards and the samurais… making sure that they weren't going to attack.

Deidara knelt down and sent his chakra through the rock structure, "there are two shinobi with the Uchiha brat."

Sasori grunted, "Brat! Get your facts straight… there are three, one of them is concealing her chakra…. Interesting it would seem that she is a sensory type."

The white hair immortal snickered, "nice one Deidara-chan!"

Deidara growled, "Shut it Hidan!"

This was enough for the Kage to break out of their shock. Ōnoki studied his former student… yes it had definitely been a mistake and the brat had most certainly grown stronger.

"STOP SPEAKING IN HALF SENTENCES! TELL ME WHERE THE FUCKING UCHIHA IS!"

The Akatsuki to A's great frustration ignored him. "I DEMAND AN ANSWER NOW! OR I SWEAR THAT YOU WILL ALL REGRET IT!"

Hidan knelt down near the white Zetsu's body, "this really was unnecessary."

Gaara looked down at the plant-man, "why do you say that?"

Kakuzu leaned against a far off wall. "It was just a clone, Madara will now know that we are alive."

"And how do you know this?" asked Kakashi.

The blonde stood up and began to walk towards the center of the room. He laughed, "He was our spy… slippery bastard for sure."

Deidara looked at the clone with a sadistic grin. "If you don't wish to become part of my art… you should take a step back, hmm!"

The member of Akatsuki immediately took a step back as he advice, the village shinobi seeing this decided it was best to listen to the mad bomber. If a group of S-rank criminals were being cautious then it would be wise to de the same.

Deidara opened his hand and a swarm of white beetles scattered onto the floor, covering the plant-man's body.

"Now this will be a blast, yeah!" exclaimed Deidara jumping into the air and performed the seal with one hand. "Katsu!"

The floor crumbled into pieces… team Taka and the samurai looked up as they felt the falling pieces of the ceiling hit their heads.

Suigetsu frowned, puzzled, "What the hell is going on?!"

Deidara stood at the edge of the opening, Sasori and Itachi stood but a few feet behind him. "The Uchiha brat is down there, un."

Sasuke's eyes twitched as he recognized the verbal impediment.

A growled and ready to jumped…

"Raikage, this is not your fight." Nagato stopped him.

"AND WHY IS THAT?!"

"Your brother is alive… plus with the power that brat now wields only an Uchiha can beat him." The Uzumaki explain as he gave an unseen signal for his members to move out.

A giant bird appeared and the three shinobi jumped on board.

"Hidan, Kakuzu, take care of the other three."

"Hai," the immortals replied, jumping down without a care of getting hurt.

Nagato looked up and stared blankly at the Kages. "We'll deliver the Uchiha to Konohagakure as a show of our willingness to collaborate, though do not get in our way." He shunshined in front of Jūgo… his mental instability and sage chakra being of little concern to him.

Genma turned to Kakashi, "this has all been pretty unexpected… though I can't say that I don't want to see this."

"Agree…."

Tsunade turned to Ōnoki, "were you ever going to tell us that an Akatsuki member was once your student?"

Ōnoki grunted, "Deidara was a gifted shinobi. It was his curse and desire to improve on his 'art' that forced me to exile the brat form the village."

Kurotsuchi gasped, "Oji-chan… there is more that you aren't saying."

The Sandaime Tsuchikage snorted, "politics aren't pretty, Kurotsuchi, stop being an insolent brat. Deidara lost all possibilities of a pardon once he joined the Akatsuki and bombed the village."

"How old was he when that happened?" wondered Temari, just looking at him it was obvious to the Suna-nin that he wasn't much older then herself.

"Fourteen, I think… he might not look it, but he is a genius and a prodigy."

Kankuro snorted, yeah he didn't believe that. Prodigies were supposed to be like Gaara or Uchiha Itachi… emotionless and cold bastards.

Mei approached the edge and looked down at the fight. "Do you ever think that perhaps the villages are the reasons that our best and brightest shinobi abandon their homes."

The room fell into a tense silent as they watched some of the most feared shinobi calmly and absently took care of what could have been a massive threat.

**-o-o-o-**

Deidara ordered the bird to descend lazily. Once at a near eye level with the Uchiha brat, he threw a few bombs at him… grinning as he performed the seal.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

Deidara smirked, "we of Akatsuki have many secrets. Your brother knows this, plus you are still but just a pawn." Deidara taunted, making sure to position the bird for the younger Uchiha to o be able to see his older brother.

At hearing his brother's name, Sasuke's temper snapped. "Don't you dare talk about Itachi. You knew nothing about him!"

The blonde chuckled, so this is what is takes to get an emotional response out of the brat…. "Nevertheless, don't be foolish, your brother wasn't that good of an actor. We know of your village's past."

"You know nothing!" yelled Sasuke firing off another jutsu.

The Iwa-nin easily dodged it. "You are more arrogant and self-centered then I would have remembered. Uchiha Sasuke, you are not the only one that has suffered because of the Hidden Villages."

Sasuke yelled in anger, refusing to hear the reason in Deidara's voice and blindly fired another jutsu.

"Enough of this Deidara," a stoic voice that Sasuke would recognize anywhere broke him out of his insane haze. "Let me speak to my otōto."

Itachi jumped off the bird and meet his brother's surprise stare.

"Otōto, what's with this foolishness?"

"Aniki… how are you…?" asked Sasuke ignoring Itachi's question.

The older Uchiha rounded his brother, now Sasuke stood between Deidara, Sasori and Itachi.

"That is of no importance… at the moment, Sasuke."

Sasuke's face-harden in stubbornness at being brushed off. "No matter, Konoha will still pay for what it did to you and our family. They had no right to ask such a thing from you, Itachi. You've suffer from their orders daily."

Sasori scoffed, but didn't say anything… this was to be Itachi's call, so when he wants the puppet masters assistance. Sasori will immobilize the spoil brat.

Sasuke's anger only grew with Itachi's silence.

"Foolish otōto, yes it was an order… but in the end it was I who decided to carry it out."

"Why?! Why would you choice the village over your own family?!"

Itachi's eyes narrowed, it was the only sign that gave away how upset he was getting with Sasuke's idiotic stubbornness.

"Sasuke, it was our family's fault for leading the clan down that path, as it was Madara's for paving it for them."

At least this made Sasuke pause and stare at his brother in confusion. The Mangekyō sharingan was spinning because of his anger.

"Yes, Sasuke, Madara didn't tell you the whole story. It wasn't just Konoha that wished to see the Uchiha dead, but also Madara. For many years now he has desired the elimination of every Uchiha."

"Then why keep me alive?"

Itachi gave him a sour smile, "because I am selfish. I could not bring myself to kill you, otōto. It was the only condition that I demanded in exchange for killing our clan."

"So what?! I was left all alone, Itachi!"

Itachi shook his head, but allowed his brother to continue with his tirade.

"I grew up in that village alone, Aniki, and you think blaming Madara will make me forget about Konoha's part in out family's death." Sasuke clenched his fists and took a step forward. "You could have stood by our family against all of these threats. Our clan could have been right and Konoha slaughtered them! If this is all true… why do you stand by Konoha?"

"Sasuke, I do not stand with Konoha, I stand with the rest of the Akatsuki against Madara…. It is time for you to find your control, Sasuke, and to get over whatever self-pity you have been wallowing in. We do not have time for it." Itachi's voice getting colder the more he talked.

Sasuke stopped and his eyes widened, reminding him how dangerous his brother really is.

"Sasuke, I do not ask for your forgiveness nor do I ask you to give up on your intentions of killing me… just stop following this idiotic path of revenge. It will get you nowhere."

And to the annoyance of the Kages and watching shinobi, a silent signal past between the three criminals. Instantly trapping Sasuke where he stood.

"I apologize otōto and I look forward to seeing you soon."

Sasuke started to protest, but it was already too late. Itachi's genjutsu was already taking effect.

Sasori and Deidara's jutsus kept Sasuke from falling on the floor. As they felt his chakra recede, Sasori snapped his chakra strings from his limbs… at the same time Deidara forced the earth to go back down. The Uchiha fell ungracefully on the floor.

"You sure took your sweet time, Itachi. Kakuzu, Hidan and Leader-sama took care of their targets a lifetime ago, yeah." Deidara said as he walked over to the younger Uchiha and gave him a kick in the ribs. He pointedly ignored the older brother's glare. 'Whatever, the brat had it coming.'

"Hey you fucking village shinobi come down here and pick up your shit!" screamed Hidan, picking himself off the floor. The redhead girl was barely alive after his ritual.

Kakashi and Genma shared a look… yes they have fought this shinobi before and if not they had heard a good deal about them. Yet, here they stood, having dealt with a situation that could have ended horribly different and however they where joking around… taunting one another. Kakashi landed next to the unconscious Uchiha and roughly slugged him over his shoulder. Naruto was going to be so pleased that they had Sasuke back, though pissed that it wasn't him that beat him.

Kurotsuchi peered from the edge and giggled, "Deidara-nii-san, I can't believe that that prick was the one who defeated you." She mocked.

Temari and Kankuro looked at the girl as if she were insane.

"Kurotsuchi-gaki!" growled the Iwa Akatsuki. "Shut up!"

Sasori smirked at his partner's antics. "Seems there are people who manage to get on your nerves, Brat."

"Danna, I'm not a tolerant person and real idiots annoy the hell out of me. You could just ask Tobi about all the times I tried to kill him." He smirked, his gaze far away. "I must've learnt that from you, Danna, hmm."

Itachi looked at his brother, once more and finally turned away towards the rest of Akatsuki.

"Kakashi-san do not let my brother out of your site… he won't be safe in Konoha."

Genma walked towards his former ANBU captain, "Itachi-san, what was your brother talking about concerning the village and your clan?"

Itachi didn't acknowledge his ex-teammate, but ultimately answered. "It is in the pass, we can't do anything about it now… just believe in what you do now." And he walked to where Nagato and Tsunade stood.

"Hokage, do not trust your council members, especially Shimura Danzō. I can only guess that they have not informed you of all Konoha's secrets and what really happens within ROOT."

The Hokage nodded and stared at the younger Uchiha, "I have a feeling, Itachi-san, that you have been unjustly incriminated."

Leader tilted his head… this was Itachi's last test.

"Hokage my family's massacre may be based on many secrets and I cannot say that I regret my actions of that night and everything that I have done since than… I admit that I have done things that would make even you cringe."

Deidara smirked as he neared the group. "So… you finally admit that you are one us, un?"

To Itachi's credit, he didn't punch the blonde.

Deidara quickly adverted his efforts to antagonizing one of the Kages.

"Hey, Kazekage, nice to see you up and about. I bet things are quieter and les chaotic inside that head of yours without the Ichibi (One Tail), hmm?"

Kankuro growled as he held his sister back from attacking the idiot.

"Shut up, you Baka, Gaara is a Kage and will forever be more powerful and smarter then you!"

Deidara smirked and turned away from the Sand Siblings.

Nagato sighed, better to get everybody out of here before they idiotically start another fight.

"We've must get going…"

"Pein, Pein, leaving before I can even say hello… not very civil of you," taunted a childish voice, drawing their attention.

The Iwa-nin growled, "Madara-teme!"

"Ah I see that one of those two revealed the truth, Deidara-sempie."

The blonde didn't miss the sarcasm in the honorific.

Sasori tightened his chakra strings around his partner. One of these days the Brat's temper was going to be the end of him… again!

"Temper, temper… sempie."

Kakashi could've sworn that the man was grinning underneath that mask of his and just like last time he could make out a small glimpse of the sharingan.

"Though enough of this," he said, his voice loosing it's playful edge. "I've come here in an attempt to prevent an unnecessary war… give me the Hachibi and Kyūbi jinchūriki." Madara demanded as he turned his head to look at Nagato, "as well as the rinnegan wielder."

Nagato's eyes narrowed, "don't you think that that is a matter that you should address to me?"

The mask-nin scoffed and sat comfortably/arrogantly on the edge of the balcony. "'Pein' that jutsu of yours has been quite the inconvenience, plus all of you being alive."

Sasori stared up at the Uchiha, "yes now you won't be able to turn us into your mindless puppets. Tell us… what did Kabuto promise you in order for you to form an alliance with that snake?"

The Kages turned in shock, once again, and stared at the apparent Suna teen.

"Ah, Sasori, your spy network is impressive, but I wonder… no I'm sure that, neither of those two have really explain what I'm planning to do." He paused for effect… Deidara resisted the urge to smack him. "But before that please sit, I want to take my time explaining…"

The younger puppeteer with face paint yelled, "just get on with it!"

Madara held up his index finger, "everything will become one with me. It will be the perfect union… it will be complete."

"…"

The Tsuchikage and Raikage growled.

"I desire to bring peace to the world, by reflecting my Infinite Tsukuyomi on the moon, creating my Eye of the Moon plan. I will control all species and force them to cease wars. It'll bring eternal peace upon the nations and so shinobi won't have to mourn over those precious to them who'll fall. But for this, I require the two remaining bijū and rinnegan. So I ask, once more, to the Hokage and Raikage to hand over your jinchūriki."

"You're delusional to think that your plan will work. Konoha, will never hand over Uzumaki Naruto to you!" the Godaime Hokage burst out.

The Raikage's eyes twitched, "you must be kidding! I won't just hand over the world to you!"

Gaara's eyes narrowed, "peace under an illusion is not true peace. It's only meaningful if the real world manages to accomplish it."

"What does that hold for us?!" asked Mei rhetorically. "There's no hopes or dreams! It's just an escape!"

"Make the world one…? I've heard of this before, but… in your case it sounds more like world domination, you just want to make the world yours." Ōnoki added.

The Akatsuki stayed quiet, they easily heard the irony of what the old man said. Though they weren't there to start another argument regarding morality.

Fortunately or unfortunately for the Kage, Madara heard it too. "Kukuku… and what have you Five Kages been able to accomplish? You must understand that there is no hope! Hope is nothing more then resignation that nothing better exists."

To everybody's surprise Gaara stepped forward, "I won't let you take Uzumaki Naruto!"

Deidara sweat-dropped, remembering that the Kazekage was a close friend of the Kyūbi's jinchūriki and predictably the Hokage and Mizukage were next.

"Naruto will never be yours, I will never let that happen!" Tsunade glared and turned to Pein.

"Me either!"

"What about you, Raikage?" Ōnoki asked without taking his eyes off Madara.

"You won't have my brother!"

The masked-nin didn't seem to be fazed over their declarations.

"I may not have any power myself… but I have the power of the bijū that I've gathered."

It was at this that Deidara reached his limit. "Gaki (Brat), you couldn't even capture the Sanbi (Three Tails) on your own!"

Sasori and Kakuzu grunted, though Itachi could imagine the frown that decorated the masked-nin's face.

"Very well… I have the power of the 7 bijū that they've captured. You don't stand a chance."

Kakashi looked at the red/black cloaked-nin, remembering their encounter with the Sanbi… yet here was a kid that was at least a decade his junior and spoke of it as if it were nothing.

The other shinobis' eyes hardened at the reminder of the crimes that these ninjas have committed.

Gaara's determination never waivered, "we won't give up hope."

"All right," Madara said, glad with the results of the meeting… not mentioning the unexpected appearance of the other Akatsuki. He will win this war no matter the obstacles that are put in front of him. He will have his perfect world.

"Then consider this a declaration of war… the 4th ninja war starts now."

He turned towards the criminals, "everyone of you knows the way of war. You would all make valuable assets and I would reward you as any of you see fit. I would make your dreams come true and relieve you of your pain."

There was a weighted silent until Hidan burst out in mad laughter. "How stupid do you think we are…? I think I fucking speak for everyone here when I say that I'd prefer to see you dead. You thought that you could cut us off and that we wouldn't retaliate, then you honestly don't know the shinobi you original recruited."

"I'm not fool enough to say a thing like this in jest and to the Akatsuki next time we meet… it will be on the battle field."

Madara left shortly afterwards, not bothering to hear the rest of the meeting.

The Tsuchikage closed his eyes in pain. "Dear me… what now?"

Gaara shot a dark look at the criminal-nins, "we have to form a shinobi alliance. There is no other way to oppose the power of seven bijū… and as much as I hate to admit it… we will require the help of Akatsuki."

A sneered, however Deidara couldn't help himself. "That must have been painful."

The redhead Kazekage stared daggers at him.

"Yes, we will need every advantage possible and…" Mei turned to Nagato. "If you are truly willing to help us against Madara without harming our shinobi…then we accept your proposal."

Nagato nodded, "very well… then we shall take our leave."

Tsunade eyes widened as she remembered what the ANBU operates had reported.

"Hold it! What has become of the shinobi that were stationed in Amegakure?"

Gaara, Temari and Kankuro's eyes narrowed at the implications and at the Uzumaki's sadistic smirk.

"They are receiving the same treatment that they gave the shinobi of my village." And without another word and with a puff of smoke the five members disappeared, Pein's body collapsed on the floor.

The Kage, guards and samurai surrounded the body… the Raikage started cursing profanities at seeing the shinobi's forehead protector.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?! WHAT SORT OF TRICKERY IS THIS?!"

Tsunade grunted, "this was no trick. That man's chakra had the same signature as the orange-head's chakra that grounded Konoha. This had to be some sort of jutsu."

The copy-nin knelt next to the corpse, as well did the Kumo-nin knelt down next to him and began to examine the body.

The Tsuchikage grunted, "a powerful jutsu… though it seems to require a sacrifice…. It also looks like they truly did not trust us. Their leader was never here physically and even when the members appeared, they already had an escape plan… it was really cunning of them."

A growled and punched a wall, "this stunt proves that they are not to be trusted."

Mifune glared, "all techniques are forbidden here." He murmured, "Their lack of faith is unsettling… to say the least."

Ōnoki snorted and gave them all a condescending look. "Not as if it matters, it is not as though we would every trust them. We cannot stand for trust to built and ideals to be meet, we do not have the time…. All that matters are the results and once Madara is defeated this truce with Akatsuki will be over and we will immediately get rid of them."

Gaara looked at Ōnoki from the corner of his eyes and thought back on what he used to be to his father.

"If that is what this world is, what humans are… there is no future. Understanding and faith… if you take those away, all that is left is fear. I can't accept immoral methods or giving up."

Ōnoki sneered, "easy for you to say.. you know nothing about running a village boy. Plus, do not forget whom we are dealing with… S-rank criminals, each one has done one thing or another to one of the villages. They are not to be trusted. So boy… if you have any questions. Now's the time to ask, I'll give you advice… kukuku."

The Kazekage's eyes hardened and he stared intently at Ōnoki. "Then let me ask you this…"

"Sure, no holds bar… ask away." Ōnoki interjected with superiority.

"When did all of you… forsake yourselves?"

* * *

**I know that the fight wasn't so wow, but Sasuke against three Akatsuki… well sorry Sasuke fans he just doesn't stand a chance. Anyway this arc focuses more on the politics then action so I know some of you may find it a snore feast…**

**Well another chapter finish and the pool for Sakura/? is still going, vote by review or PM and I'll see you next week. **


	6. The Audience Pt3

**Hello to you all, so I know I didn't update last week and I apologize for that. I got hooked on an anime and I couldn't concentrate on anything else till I finished it. Inuyasha was on hell of a story and I loved the romance between the two main characters, plus the villains of the show are really nicely done.**

**So I will like to inform you that the poll will soon be coming to a close by the end of this week and if you want your favorite character to get the girl, you better vote. Because of this I will stop posting the results of the poll and the winning pair will remain a surprise until later in the story.**

**Well I like to thank everyone of you that have reviewed, favorited or followed… you all remind me to keep writing and give me courage to keep posting. So enjoy….**

* * *

The truth is coming,

lies are nothing…

but just a part of the past.

Accepting what is real,

and seeing the world,

to what it truly is.

Is harder then living in lies.

* * *

_**The Kazekage's eyes hardened and he stared intently at Ōnoki. "Then let me ask you this…"**_

_**"Sure, no holds bar… ask away." Ōnoki interjected with superiority.**_

_**"When did all of you… forsake yourselves?"**_

* * *

The Tsuchikage's head snapped up, "what?!"

Mei looked at Gaara with a small fund smile, 'what a pure-hearted child.'

"Sorry to interrupt, but Raikage-bosu (boss) this is one of our nuke-nin… A-rank to be precise. He must have foolishly attacked them during their journey."

The Raikage bristled, but accepted his right hand's assessment, these Akatsuki were really hard to figure out.

"Hokage-sama, what do you believe we should do?" asked Genma.

Tsunade sighed and turned her gaze towards the young Uchiha, "we head back to Konoha and start preparing. Raikage-sama, go find your brother and once you do… send a message to the rest of us. We'll meet up in Kumogakure and discuss our next move."

A grunted and started turning towards the exit, "Hokage-sama before I came here… I ran into the Kyūbi brat." His eyes flickered to Sasuke. "He pleaded with me to forgive the Uchiha and seeing as my brother is okay… I think I might just do that, but Hokage-sama your job will be to keep that gaki in line."

Tsunade grunted.

"What of the Akatsuki?" wondered Mei.

Ōnoki smirked, "Raikage-sama send a message to them too. We will play nice for now." He said, sending a glare at the Kazekage, "we won't waste using such powerful weapons when they're being handed out so freely."

The Raikage grunted in agreement.

"Tsuchikage we will follow this plan, but this war is for the jinchūriki and our main goal will be to protect them. So now don't you dare go suggesting we use them next…understood!" stated Tsunade.

"I back the Hokage up on this. It would seem that the whole reason Madara has decided to start this war using the seven bijū he has collected… is because in his current weakened state, and with the Akatsuki now against him, it would seem that it's too difficult for him to capture the Hachibi and Kyūbi. Even if he succeeded, the risks would be too high. He may even be thinking of using this war to lure them out." The Kazekage spoke his thoughts.

Mei turned to the other Kages. "I can certainly agree with that."

"I also support the Kazekage…! Considering what it may lead to, we cannot possibly put the Hachibi and Kyūbi right out before the enemy's reach! At any rate, my brother, the Hachibi jinchūriki is not the kind of man to follow any strategies we might prepare! Who knows what he might end up doing… he would only bring chaos to the battlefield."

"…." Gaara thought of Naruto, "I could say the same of the Kyūbi jinchūriki, Naruto."

Kankuro chuckled, "huh… well said."

"Hahaha… yeah…." Temari added darkly.

Mei stared down at the Tsuchikage, "fine. Do you accept, then Tsuchikage-sama that we will consider that the Hachibi and Kyūbi be retrieved, restrained and protected?"

"Hm," agreed the Tsuchikage grudgingly.

"Good, when we return and meet up again, we will all share the information we have on the jinchūriki and if we must we will force the Akatsuki to share all they know on the enemy and other bijū." A glanced at Gaara, "and how they defeated them."

A, Darui and C speed off, Tsunade grunted. "Kakashi-san, Genma-san, lets go and catch up to Naruto. He'll be please to see that gaki and I do have a few choice words I want to share."

"Hokage-sama," Gaara called at her. "I wish to accompany you and help you tell Naruto of the resurrection of Akatsuki."

"Hn, very well… you may be able to hold him down if nothing else and prevent him from doing anything stupid."

Kankuro laughed, "Gaara, you sure going to have your hands full."

Kakashi couldn't help but agree.

**-o-o-o-**

Six forms with black/red cloaks sprinted through Amegakure, as they landed on the roof of the tallest tower. Deidara chuckled at seeing Konan waiting for them… or more specifically Nagato. Luckily for Sasori's sanity, his partner at least had enough sense to not speak his mind.

Konan smiled at her partner, "how did it go?"

Nagato nodded in greeting, but it still went against all his being to show affection in public.

"They have agreed. Sasori, Itachi go down to the cells and release the shinobi, do not provide them with any aid."

"Nagato-sama, what shall we do no, hmm?"

"We wait, the Raikage will most likely go find his brother… the Hokage should have order him to send word when he returns to Kumogakure. A message shall arrive and it will most likely demand that we go to Kumo and give them all of the information we have on the bijū." He turned and stared over the village, "during this waiting period. We will all train and improve our skills in order to survive this war."

Kakuzu grunted and headed inside, 'what can I say… looking at Madara again reminded me too much of my fight against the Shodai (First) Hokage. One way or another I will redeem my reputation and that defeat, as well as the defeat from the Konoha-gakis will be forgotten.'

After Deidara left, murmuring something about creating a new ultimate piece of art. Nagato formed the seals for his Ukojizai no Jutsu (Rain Tiger of Will Technique)… this will inform him when all of the Konoha and Suna shinobi our out of his village… and if any of them are really foolish enough to liger….

"I will not stay back next time, Nagato," said Konan tilting her face upwards to enjoy the rain.

"There is nothing I can say that'll convince you other wise?" asked Nagato half-heartedly.

"I would think that you would know me better?" she shot back.

Nagato smirked, "I do… and do not worry, I wasn't even planning to…. Kisame will be joining us soon."

Konan looked down and smirked, "Itachi will be glad, as well as Sasori."

He turned and headed back into the tower, satisfied that the foreign shinobi were leaving his land. Konan peacefully followed.

**-o-o-o-**

Tsunade, Kakashi and Genma found Naruto and Yamato at a neared by village.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO! What is the meaning of this!" demanded the Godaime.

Narrator's face paled, "Obā-chan (Granny) I can explain!" he pleaded holding out his hands in front of his face in protection.

"I do not care! Tell me who gave you permission to leave the village?!"

"Obā-chan, I was just trying to prevent a war with Kumogakure and tried to convince the Raikage to pardon Sasuke." He hastily explained.

Lee, Kiba, Sai and Sakura ran out of the inn, wondering what the commotion was about.

"Mi-Milady," Sakura stammered. "What are you doing here?"

To Naruto's relief, Tsunade's death glare changed target. "Sakura! I could ask you that!"

Kakashi chuckled and dropped his baggage against a tree, because of Tsunade no one noticed him or the Uchiha.

"Milady… I came he-here t-to t-tell…" she trailed off, blushing. Kakashi could instantly tell that she wasn't saying the truth.

"Sakura, tell us the truth."

Sakura stayed stubbornly quiet with a frustrated sigh Kiba stepped forward, ignoring the pinkette's glare. "We came here to inform Naruto of Konoha's Eleven decision. We have all come to the conclusion that it is time for Konoha to deal with Sasuke… once and for all."

Naruto's head snapped up, "WHAT?!"

Lee looked up and added, "yes we cannot let a war to start because of him."

"We have all relied on Naruto for too long and the quest to bring the Uchiha back is hurting him only more," added Sai.

"Hmm, as noble as that is… it is unnecessary."

"And why is that, Obā-chan?" yelled Naruto. He couldn't believe his friends.

Genma pushed himself off a tree, lazily playing with a senbon, "because we've brought you a little gift…. Isn't that right, Kakashi?"

All eyes turned to the silver-haired ninja and at once they noticed the unconscious teen near his feet.

"Is that…?"

"It can't be…"

"But how…?"

"Didn't see this coming…"

"What happened, you've got to tell me… Kakashi-sensei." The blonde demanded.

"Calm down Naruto," a stoic voice spoke up from behind the Konoha shinobi.

"Gaara! Do you know something regarding all of this?!"

The redhead grunted. "Yes, Uchiha Sasuke, attacked the Kage Summit and was swiftly taken care of by an unsuspecting third party."

"Uh, Gaara, mind speaking in less riddles… unsuspecting third party…?"

Tsunade grumbled, damn brat was taking his kami damn time getting to the point. "Naruto! The Akatsuki were at the meeting and it was Uchiha Itachi that captured Sasuke."

The stun expressions and ire silence spoke volumes and it was just a matter of seconds before the chaos began.

"No fucking way… Sasuke killed that bastard!" yelled Kiba.

Temari scoffed, "yeah well… he did an excellent job. The bastard was as good as new…. As well as Deidara, Hidan, Kakuzu, Akasuna no Sasori and… Pein."

Now they were pale… struggling to accept what she had seen only a few hours back.

"No… no… but Chiyo-sama and I defeated that puppet bastard." Sakura protested weakly.

Kankuro looked down at now his most price scroll, "that may be… but he seemed to be 100% human now. What's more he still looks as if he were in his teens."

Sakura cursed, that battle still brought nightmares and to know that he hadn't suffer any consequences regarding his actions… was just the cherry on top.

At last Naruto found his voice, "so Pein…?"

Kakashi nodded and Naruto wondered if Nagato was going to go back on his word… was he going to start hunting the bijū again.

"Hokage-sama, do you have any idea what they may want?" asked Sai.

Tsunade's expression fell, "that is where things get complicated."

"What do you mean, Milady?"

Kakashi knelt down next to the dark hair boy.

"What the Hokage is getting at is that the Akatsuki wishes to form an alliance with the 5 Great Nations in order to defeat Uchiha Madara. The capture of Uchiha Sasuke was a sign of good will." The Copy-nin lowered his head, "what we saw today… who we fought before… there is no comparison. Defeating them this time will be near impossible. Hokage-sama… I noticed this during their fight, they are more powerful and why I, can only guess."

Kiba patted Akamaru's head, "what was the Kages' decision?" he asked nervously.

Genma sighed, "they have agreed to the alliance… no matter how short it may last."

That stunned the group more then anything else… after a year and half of thinking of them as their enemies, they were now supposed to fight beside them.

"Milady… Gaara-san… you cannot be serious?!" asked Sakura, remembering the pain that they had suffered because of that specific organization.

Gaara closed his eyes and sighed, "Sakura-san do not forget that I too have suffer a great deal because of Akatsuki…. But I can see that Uchiha Madara is the bigger threat. He now has seven of nine bijū and has proclaimed war on all of the Five Great Nations. It is in times like this that controversial decisions have to be made… however do not worry, not one of us is foolish enough to actually trust that organization."

"Uchiha… Madara," murmured Naruto.

"What about him, Naruto?"

"Oh, it's just… Kakashi-sensei, Madara was here a while back and he said something about the Uchiha massacre." Naruto mumbled the last to words.

Tsunade nodded, "yes Itachi and Sasuke said something about that… and Yamato explain to me how you let Madara get so close to capturing Naruto?!"

Yamato held his hands in front of him, begging for mercy.

"Well… Hokage-sama… you see…"

"Oh shut it!" interrupted Tsunade. "Naruto what did the Uchiha tell you?"

Naruto glanced first at his friends than at Yamato, who had warned him about what could happen if he were to reveal such information… and finally he looked at Sasuke and made his decision. Either way the truth was going to come out.

"The Konoha Council ordered the Uchiha Massacre and it was Itachi that carried out the mission."

"What…?"

"Why…?"

"No! It can't be true!"

"Yeah! How can we believe anything he says to be true?!"

"Because Itachi-san all but admitted it," Genma said in a calm voice. "I know Itachi-san and something about the massacre has always felt wrong."

"How do you know, Itachi?" asked Kiba.

Genma scratched the back of neck nervously, "years back I was part of ANBU and… well… I'm sure you can guess who was my captain during that time."

Sai nodded, "yes I remember now… Uchiha Itachi made ANBU captain at the age of 13."

"Yes, the Mizukage said something about that. After the Akatsuki incident in Suna, I investigated Akasuna no Sasori. He was a genius puppeteer from the early age of 5 and graduated Suna's Ninja Academy when he was 7. He later became a Chūnnin at 8, and as Sakura knows he earned his reputation across the Five Nations because of his exploits during the Third Shinobi World War and soon after became Head of the Puppet Court." The redhead narrowed his eyes. "It was even rumored that he was the prime candidate to become the Yodaime Kazekage, but for unknown reasons he left the village at the age of 15."

Naruto frowned not understanding at what Gaara was getting at.

"Yeah, yeah, so he was a prodigy." He said, waving his hand as it was nothing.

Kankuro growled, "you idiot! What Gaara is saying… in his own complicated way… is that before Sasori left the village he was as any other loyal shinobi, just like Itachi."

"Perhaps, but didn't he kill the Sandaime Kazekage?" asked Sakura confuse.

Temari nodded, "yes, but it was years after his deflection. It doesn't really make sense."

Kakashi sighed, "It seems that the Akatsuki are as big a mystery as they have always been."

The surrounding shinobi nodded.

"We must depart and start preparing our villages for the war. Hokage-sama, I will see you once the Raikage sends word."

The sand siblings said their good-byes and ran off.

The Konoha-nin packed up… Kakashi was inwardly pleased, perhaps they will be able to get to Konoha before Itachi's jutsu wore off.

* * *

**That is the end of Arc two… the title was inspired by Akeboshi's… The Audience:**

**You and us together**

**Together in this room**

**You will not remember**

**This passing moment soon**

**So I hope you enjoyed it and remember you have till the end of this week to vote and let me tell you it is close… hehehe! **


	7. Answers

**Well, my loyal fans here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it. I'll like to thank all of you who have reviewed, favorited or followed and are even willing to read this fic. **

* * *

_**Temari nodded, "yes, but it was years after his deflection. It doesn't really make sense."**_

_**Kakashi sighed, "It seems that the Akatsuki are as big a mystery as they have always been."**_

_**The surrounding shinobi nodded.**_

_**"We must depart and start preparing our villages for the war. Hokage-sama, I will see you once the Raikage sends word."**_

_**The sand siblings said their good-byes and ran off.**_

_**The Konoha-nin packed up… Kakashi was inwardly pleased, perhaps they will be able to get to Konoha before Itachi's jutsu wore off.**_

* * *

A week passed without any incidents and to Deidara's delight he figured out a way to, more or less, overcome his weakness to lightning. Problem was that it wasn't going to be efficient during an aerial fight.

Itachi stood next to his partner… who had arrived but a few hours prior.

"Itachi, what is it that you wish?" wondered Nagato, not bothering to move from were he sat.

"I desire to go to Konoha, to finish my discussion with my otōto."

"Do you trust that village to not kill you on sight?"

The Uchiha smirked, "we wont be entering the village… but our clones…."

"Shōten no Jutsu (Impersonating Jutsu)," finished Nagato. "You already have the sacrifices."

Neither of the two shinobi answered, just stared at him steadily.

"The clones will require 60% of your chakra… to make the journey and if necessary defeat any opponent without the jutsu releasing."

Itachi and Kisame nodded and knelt behind Nagato… the bodies were already positioned at the border of Amegakure.

As they began their journey, Kisame cracked a smile. "Never thought I would be seeing you again, kid. Especially after that dramatic fight… however if you ask me you did over do it, a bit."

Itachi smirked, "being alive is not something I would have thought possible. I was completely prepared to die… and now I have to fight in a war. The very thing I've been trying to prevent for the pass decade."

"Are you sulking… kid?"

Itachi didn't answer right away and stayed quiet for a few minutes.

"I believe I am," he said softly.

Kisame chuckled, he forgets at times that his partner was still but just a kid in certain aspects of his personality.

"Come on kid, let go beat some sense into your stubborn otōto."

**-o-o-o-**

It is a two days journey from Amegakure to Konohagakure, yet to Kisame's pride they arrive at the village in a day and a half. Using the same low class genjutsu that they used last time, they snuck passed the guards.

Itachi looked at what use to be a prospering nation… was now almost nothing. He could think that it was Konoha's fate to be destroyed, he had just prevented the inevitable.

"Hey kid, where do you recon you brother is being held? This place is more confusing then last time." The shark-nin remarked.

Itachi nodded, "yes, their emergency plans should still be the same and with Sasuke still being unconscious…"

"Your village did not learn anything from last time, did it?"

"Surprisingly not, Kisame," he tilted his head slightly to the left. "Likewise, it seems that Kakashi-san has come to greet us."

The silver haired ninja jumped out of his hiding spot and smiled sheepishly. "I admit tailing you wasn't my brightest ideas."

Neither of the Akatsuki bothered to answer.

"Itachi, whatever you wish to say to Sasuke is pointless. He has not awaken from your jutsu yet." Kakashi informed his ex-teammate.

Itachi gave no indication that he heard him.

"Then the jutsu has served its purpose." He said matter-of-factly, walking ahead not bothering to explain further. "Inform the Hokage where we will be." He finished, leaving Kakashi alone of the walkway.

The two S-rank shinobi stood next to the young Uchiha, the Kyūbi jinchūriki was deeply asleep. The ANBU outside had been easily incapacitated.

"Itachi-san you scare me at times," murmured the shark.

"Itachi! Was it really necessary for you to beat the hell out of my ninja with such an advance and outdated jutsu!" demanded the Godaime as she entered the room. "Oh, don't you dare ask me to leave! It would seem that Madara paid Naruto a little visit before crashing the summit."

The Uchiha inclined his head in understanding, though he could see that Kisame wasn't at all comfortable. With a series of seals he released the jutsu… Sasuke eyes immediately fluttered open.

"Aniki… what did you do?!" he yelled as he realized where he was, and to his luck Naruto woke up.

"Damn Sasuke, do you have to be so loud?" the blonde complained as he messaged his head.

"Um… kid, why don't you put the baka back to sleep," complained Kisame. "He's louder then Dei."

Itachi didn't even turn as he walked and gaze out the window. "Kisame that would be redundant, it will be faster and easier to deal with the three at once."

"No, this will just be one bigger headache… you enjoy torturing me, kid!" accused the blue skin-nin.

To the surprise of all the Konoha shinobi, Itachi chuckled. "… I'll admit… it is entertaining."

Naruto scouted closer to his best friend, "hey teme… I didn't know your brother had a sense of humor."

Sasuke nodded subconsciously, he was just as freaked out as the others.

"Enough time wasted," Itachi interrupted their thoughts. "Ask away."

The room filled with a tense silence and to Itachi's inward amusement Naruto was the one who broke it.

"Is it true?"

To the Hokage's frustration, Itachi nodded… Naruto burst a casket.

"No, no, no… it can't be! The Sandaime would have never let such a thing happen!" the denial was thick in his voice.

Kisame snorted, "baka, when will you get it through that thick skull of yours that the Hidden Villages aren't as honest and honorable as you make them out to be. I mean…"

"Enough Kisame," commanded Itachi in an icy tone.

"Why are you here, Aniki?" asked Sasuke, finding his voice.

"To answer any questions you may have and to stop this idiotic plan of revenge. The whole of Konoha isn't to blame and neither is the late Hokage."

Tsunade cleared her throat, "then who gave the order."

The older Uchiha exhaled, "the council, but more specifically… Danzō, he has wish for the power of the Uchiha for many years now. His right eye is proof of this." He turned and gave his brother a cold look. "Shisui's, in an attempt to stop Danzō's madness… he ended up being attack. Unfortunately, for Shisui he underestimated Danzō and barely got away… though not without losing his eye first."

Itachi turned to Naruto and to the teen's disgust he began to chuck-up a black mass, which swiftly took the form of a bigger then average crow. As it got free, it flew over to Itachi and sat on his shoulder.

"Damn, I thought I was never going to see that freaking bird ever again!" exclaimed Naruto gagging to clear his mouth.

The bird turned and let the others see the sharingan… they all flinched imagining what could have happen between the two cousins.

"Shisui gave me his other eye before he ended his life at Naka River, forcing the Mangekyō sharingan to awaken. It was his final wish to protect the village and to prevent a civil war."

"Why? Itachi, why does our family always have to sacrifice everything for this damn village?" Sasuke stubbornly asked.

"Because it is our family that has been the cause for all the pain this village has suffer!"

Kisame took a step back, not used to seeing his partner loose his temper.

"It was Uchiha Madara that unleashed the Kyūbi on the village almost seventeen years ago, which ended up killing Minato-san and Kushina-san."

Both Naruto and Tsunade caught the sadness in his voice when mentioning the village's heroes.

"I-Itachi-san, you knew my Oto-san (Dad) and Haha (Mother)?" asked Naruto nervously. Not used to speaking about his parents.

Itachi nodded, "yes, Naruto-kun. Minato-san never approved of how my family was always pushing me to improve."

Tsunade inclined his head, "so you've known of the truth since the start."

"Hn," was Itachi's only responds and closed the subject. "Sasuke forget the past and learn on how to live in the present, learn from Naruto-kun. He knows the worst loneliness that a person could ever experience… however he has managed to come out from it a better person."

Sasuke shook with anger, "that Baka doesn't know anything about the pain you put me through."

"Damasu (Fool)," hissed Itachi.

Kisame was wishing that he hadn't accompany his partner, in that second he was scarier then even Nagato-sama.

Naruto visibly flinched back. Sasuke's brother was terrifying, but managed to find his voice to speak his thoughts.

"Then why would you join Akatsuki if you were so loyal to Konoha and if your were friends with my parents?"

It was obvious that the blonde was also trying to change the subject.

Itachi shrugged one shoulder an inch, "during the time after the massacre… I could see the logic in Leader-sama's plans. After all, I started to care only about the end results," he turned to Kisame. " None of us care about the means necessary to reach our goal." The shark-nin grunted his agreement, "the lives of nine unfortunate individuals and the thousands of others that would follow, is a price that I was willing to pay… as long as I didn't have to fight in another war."

Tsunade scoffed, "that's some twisted logic if I've ever heard any."

"Perhaps Hokage, but tell me… do your shinobi truly have a choice when being assigned a mission?" asked Itachi as he noticed that the jinchūriki was about to start protesting.

"Naruto, silence!" ordered Tsunade. "Uchiha what are you getting at?"

Kisame answered that before Itachi, reminding them that he was also there. "Itachi and I have declined a number of missions which we deemed not worth our time."

Kakashi stepped forward out of the shadows followed by Yamato.

Itachi smirked… he had been wondering when those two would make their appearance.

"How do things work within your organization?"

The blue-skin shinobi glanced unsurely at his dark hair partner… to the annoyance of all Konoha's high rank shinobi in the room, there appeared to be some sort of silent communication passing between the Akatsuki.

"The request would go through Sasori's spy network and if it seemed as though it would benefit the organization, Konan-san would get in contact with the client and later Leader would inform the rest of us of the mission that were available." Itachi explained in a bore voice.

Yamato tilted his head, "and what reassurance is there that the mission will be completed."

Kisame chuckled, "all of us get bore easily and doing nothing is the worst possible thing for a few of us… sooner or later the mission would get done. Plus the pay is a good initiative, our services aren't cheap."

"Tenzo spit it out, your staring and glares will accomplish nothing." Itachi said, leaning against the wall next to the window.

Kakashi snickered at Yamato's frustrated expression.

"You prodigal geniuses are all the same… frustrating arrogant bastards," the wood user complained. Though no one paid him any attention.

"Kisame…."

"Yes, kid," beady eyes turned to the door. "We'll be going now… please get rid of these two for us"

"Also be informed that your shinobi have been released and should be here in a few days… Leader-sama was not please with how Ame's shinobi were treated."

The Godaime narrowed her eyes, though she couldn't really blame the rinnegan wielder.

"Aniki, I will not stay here!"

"Brat, you really don't have a choice… we are not even here!" answered Kisame, laughing at the Hokage expression. "Yeah… we haven't forgotten that we are S-ranked criminals."

"Sasuke do not use your Mangekyō sharingan… unless you wish to loss you sight. The amount of chakra necessary will burn your optic nerves. Oh and Hokage make sure that you keep the truth of the Uchiha massacre under wraps, this isn't time for the citizens to loss faith in their government." Itachi added as an after thought.

It was with those last words that they dropped dead.

"I'm really starting to hate that jutsu," growled Tsunade as she kicked on of the bodies.

**-o-o-o-**

In the days that followed, in Konoha, there was a mixture of tranquility and chaos. Tsunade would kill for a couple of sake, but because of her goody-two-shoe apprentice she wasn't enjoying the comforting liquid warmth.

"Milady, the last of our shinobi have been checked out… they're all okay. The worst one only has a mild case of hyperthermia. If you think about what they've been through… it should have been worse." The pinkette reported.

"Yes, plus the Daimyōs have given their approval on the alliance though they know nothing regarding the Akatsuki's involvement." Shizune added.

"Good… has word from the Raikage…?"

Both of her students shook their heads.

"Though we have receive word that he and Killer B are together." Sakura said.

Tsunade nodded, "alright then you may go."

Shizune left swiftly, however Sakura lingered.

"What is it, Sakura?" asked the Hokage not looking up from her files.

"M-Milady… are you sure this is a good idea… I mean working with the Akatsuki?" she asked hesitantly.

Her shishou sighed, "no Sakura… just having Sasuke in the village is a gamble. However they are an asset that all of the other Kages are will to take the risk to use."

Sakura nodded and began to turn to leave. She had promised Naruto to meet up with him for lunch and that ultimately meant that she was going to have to see Sasuke. Poor Naruto, had gotten the task of keeping an eye on their genin teammate and luckily them… the Uchiha had stopped attempting to leave after Itachi and Kisame's visit. What was weirder was that the elders upright retired and Danzō was now nowhere to be found. All in all things were much simpler for the Godaime.

"Sakura!" Tsunade called her into attention, "this does not mean that we trust them. If anything will do everything in our power to keep them in line, as well as figuring out what they are planning."

Her student inclined her head, her small smile was filed with reassurance and Sakura sprinted out of her office.

* * *

**So there you go and I hope you enjoyed it, if you did tell me and if you didn't more reason to tell me. So I realize that this is a small type of filler, but at the same time it starts to answer many questions.**

**Plus, if any of you are interested I hate to say this but the pole as ended and the pairing has been decided. However since I feel like being a little cruel so I won't tell you… if you can guess go a head and if you guess correctly… you get cookies! Little hint it was a close one, until the last day it was a three-way tie… I was actually worried for a little bit.**

**So please, review and see you next week. **


	8. Rookie Pt1

**Hey there, my friends… I know it is normally a day late but oh well. So lately, I have been distracted with the anime Bleach and I must say that it is quite entertaining… though I do have one complain Ichigo is so annoying… I can honestly say that I am watching this show only because I have come to care for the side characters, most importantly Hitsugaya Tōshirō-taicho (Captain Toushiro Hitsugaya) he is the best. The other captains are really cool too, and again in my opinion they are better thought out then the protagonists.**

**Well enough of my rambling on a subject I know most of you don't care about and here enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Words may sound pretty,

and give a sense of comfort.

Though if you aren't careful

the truth that is hidden,

the lies that are visible.

Shall never be seen.

* * *

_**Her shishou sighed, "no Sakura… just having Sasuke in the village is a gamble. However they are an asset that all of the other Kages are will to take the risk to use."**_

_**Sakura nodded and began to turn to leave. She had promised Naruto to meet up with him for lunch and that ultimately meant that she was going to have to see Sasuke. Poor Naruto, had gotten the task of keeping an eye on their genin teammate and luckily them… the Uchiha had stopped attempting to leave after Itachi and Kisame's visit. What was weirder was that the elders upright retired and Danzō was now nowhere to be found. All in all things were much simpler for the Godaime.**_

_**"Sakura!" Tsunade called her into attention, "this does not mean that we trust them. If anything will do everything in our power to keep them in line, as well as figuring out what they are planning."**_

_**Her student inclined her head, her small smile was filed with reassurance and Sakura sprinted out of her office.**_

* * *

It was almost a week later that the Raikage's message reached Amegakure. It took Nagato and Konan under an hour to think of a plan for whatever situation they might have to face.

As usual during one of their journeys more then one fight broke out… to say that Sasori was pissed because of his partner would be an understatement.

"Brat! Have you learnt nothing these past years?" demanded the redhead.

The blonde shrugged, he was in too good of a mood. It was completely true, and now proven that Hidan was weaker then him. Honestly, he had gone through all that to prove his point.

"Deidara, are you even listening to me?!" Sasori asked now angry.

"Really Sasori-danna, you should be proud of me, Hidan wasn't able to land one punch or scratch on me, yeah."

The rest of Akatsuki were set on ignoring their bickering.

Sasori snorted, "be as that may. We are now behind schedule and you know how much I hate to make people wait." As to tick the blonde off, Sasori picked up the pace.

Nagato-sama and Konan-san had decided to keep going in the hope of finding a safe entrance point into Kumogakure. To the dismay of Itachi, Kakuzu, and Sasori a fight had soon after started between the two loudest members. Kisame had just sat there and watched, silently laughing as the pair traded insults.

A few hours pass midday the six shinobi reached the meet up point. Konan and Nagato were impatiently waiting as they leaned against the rocks.

"You're late," commented Nagato.

Sasori grunted as he sent a pointed look at Deidara and Hidan.

"Understood… we'll enter the village from the main gate. We will show the Kages that we haven't come here looking for trouble. However, at the same time we will not hide and cower before them." Nagato explained, "keep in mind that if a fight is to break out… as long as we stay within the village we will hold the advantage. The Kages won't try anything if it puts the village in danger."

The others nodded, and they began to make their way through Kumogakure.

As they past the gate, the group was immediately surrounded by Kumo shinobi.

"We were instructed to escort you to the Raikage's Tower… also to ask you to relinquish your weapons." The nameless ninja instructed nervously.

Nagato calmly stepped around the ninja and continued on walking. Really, if they wanted to destroy the village… it would already be in flames.

The ninja lost his temper, he couldn't handle being ignored… yet he didn't try to stop them a second time. These were the Akatsuki and their leader, now confirmed with his own eyes, posses the rinnegan. That man hand single handedly made Konoha into an empty crater with just one jutsu.

"Forgive me, Raikage-sama," the head shinobi thought. He preferred 10 times over to face the Raikage's rage then anger these shinobi.

The Raikage's blood boiled, as he witnessed the Akatsuki walk calmly through his village.

"Raikage watch your temper," Tsunade walked towards the village's leader. "Remember that it is us using them… for the time being, and once we know what their endgame is… we will decide what to do."

"Hokage-sama is correct," agreed Mei. "However, I wonder how we will get that information. I've got the feeling that they won't freely indulge those type of secrets."

Ōnoki nodded, "yes, anyway I would love to know how they do that transformation jutsu and the chakra projections."

Tsunade grunted her agreement, remembering what Kakashi had told her. He had noticed during their first meeting and confirmed it during their confrontation with Kisame and Itachi. Using some jutsu, somehow the members can communicate with each other telepathically. Really to get the answers they want… they were going to have to have a shinobi hidden within their ranks, yet the real worry… is who?

"Silence! All of you," commanded A. "They have entered the building."

"Good observation, Raikage," cracked Kisame, "but we can already guess what you Kage have been discussing and planning."

The Tsuchikage snorted, "Are you volunteering the information?"

Nagato shot the shark a look, telling him to be quiet. The message was also sent to Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, Hidan and Kakuzu through the rings.

Konan to the Kages' surprise stepped forward and answered the Tsuchikage's question. "That is not the reason why we are here and I suggest that we stick to the point. It won't take Madara long to organize his forces."

Ōnoki scoffed at being brushed aside so easily.

Gaara was the first to speak, "and who are you?" he asked not recognizing her from the summit or any bingo book.

Konan tilted her head in consideration, thanks to Nagato… she wasn't that well known throughout the Hidden Villages.

"I am Konan, Amegakure's Tenshi-sama (Lady Angel)," she introduced.

Nagato couldn't help but smirked at the addition of her nickname.

Gaara's eyes narrowed, he recognized that name. The shinobi that had recently return had been murmuring of a tenshi that was rumored to be the protector of the village… Kami no messenjā (God's messenger).

Mei nodded, but decided to move on. She did agree that it was best to stick to the point.

"First thing first, where will we hide the bijū. It needs to be somewhere that their massive chakra reserves wont be detected."

A glared daggers at their current company, but Tsunade had a point… they were going to have to trust them, at least to some extent and for now.

"I've already got the place," he sent a meaningful glare at the Hokage. "It will also be the perfect place for Naruto to learn control over the Kyūbi."

"A good plan," Nagato stated. His members spread out and sat in difference places around the room, all prepared to just listen. "Especially with what we'll be fighting, there will come a time when the power of the Kyūbi will be necessary."

Tsunade exploded, "what are you talking about! The point of this whole war is to protect that knucklehead!"

Nagato turned to Deidara and Kisame, "those two can better explain."

The shark-nin chuckled, "where to start…. Until recently, I've been assigned with the mission of gathering information. Madara is planning to use an army of hundred thousand white Zetsu clones. Unfortunately, for the Zetsus to be stronger… the orange mask baka is giving them chakra from the Gedo statue."

Gaara in an attempt to understand the organization better, asked, "Why did you abandon your post? You seemed to have escaped unscathed."

"He left on my order," responded Nagato. "Once it became obvious that his safety would be compromised, when he failed to capture the Hachibi."

Deidara snorted from where he sat, leaning against the window. "Yeah, well, I was the baka's partner for a year and during some of those missions I got to analyze some of the ways that the plant-freak gathered information." He turned and looked at the village, he wasn't going to say it out loud… but this village would be too easy to destroy. "One of his most efficient methods… was also his most disturbing," the blonde continued. The last sentence captured the attention of all the shinobi in the room. The ex-Iwa shinobi lowered his voice, losing himself to his thoughts. "White Zetsu has the ability to absorb a shinobi's chakra with the simplest of touches. What he does with the chakra is the actual problem… he changes his appearance into that of the shinobi of who he absorbed the chakra. After that it is impossible to tell the difference between the real person and the clone… sensing their chakra to confirm a person's identity would become futile since technically it is their chakra."

"That is were Naruto-kun comes in," Itachi picked up. "It is believed that the Kyūbi jinchūriki when in control of the bijū's chakra is able to sense malevolent intent… making it possible to distinguish between clone and ally."

"Is there anyway around this without evolving Naruto?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes and added, "Plus, how do you know so much about the Kyūbi?"

Deidara shrugged, deciding that the conversation was not worth his time. Nagato sighed and answered when he saw the tick on Tsunade's forehead. "I'm afraid not. If left uncheck, this will cause tension and mistrust within the divisions. And if you must know before we started on our hunt for the bijū, we gather all the information that we could get about them."

The tension rouse between the two parties at the clear reminder of whom the Kage were dealing with.

Ōnoki smiled smugly, "as I've been saying since the summit. We have to use the bijū. They are our most powerful weapons."

"If it becomes utterly necessary," conceded Gaara with an obvious frown.

"Yes, but not until he masters the Kyūbi's chakra," agreed Tsunade, as reluctant as Gaara. "Until that time… he will be useless in this matter."

The other Kages and Nagato nodded in agreement. A moved onto the second matter, "now we must decided who will lead each division and how we will divided our shinobi."

"Agree," voice Ōnoki and gave the Akatsuki a condescending look. "Will your small village be contributing in this?"

Konan glared, but answered without any emotion in her voice. "Our village shinobi will join the ranks, as well as Kusagakure no soto (Hidden Grass Village) and Ishigakure no soto (Hidden Stone Village)."

The Ame's tenshi smirked, "they've been our allies for many years now."

The surprise looks on all the Kages made the S-rank criminals smirked… they truly had no idea how much influence their organization carries.

Mei's eyes narrowed, "I notice you didn't include the eight of you." She stated though they heard her unsaid question.

Nagato inclined his head in agreement, "my members and I will work as our own division. I'm sure that the samurai will propose the same thing."

Mifune grunted his reluctant agreement.

"Why do you wish this?" Ōnoki wondered out loud.

"At the moment the alliance is fragile, residue tension from previous wars is high and will make working together difficult. Our fraction will only make things worse…and we also don't trust you to not stab us in the back." Nagato answered. "Plus, the way that we work… we don't want to be responsible for any shinobi being foolish enough to get in our way."

"Why you good for nothing, brats!" exclaimed A.

The Akatsuki leader smirked, he knew what he was about to propose would cause some trouble between the two groups.

"We at the moment have two spots available, if you wish… you may sent any high rank shinobi that you see fit to see if they have what it takes. We will not let anybody slow us down."

To Nagato's surprise and to the credit of his loudest members they followed his earlier order… however he knew that when the time came they would demand answers.

Ōnoki snorted, "You must be insane! Why will we let any of our shinobi become part of your organization?!"

The redhead ignored his first question, "because you all wish to know how we do the things we do… how we even manage to capture seven of the nine bijū."

The Kages' eyes widened in surprise with just his first words.

'Do they have spies within this walls,' wondered Tsunade, 'no…? or are we just that transparent?'

Konan looked around the room and saw that their members were starting to loose their patience.

"You have heard our offer and I'm sure your strategist will agree that having a few village loyal shinobi within Akatsuki… perhaps… well… who knows?" elaborated the paper wielder vaguely.

Slowly and in a lazy manner the S-rank criminals left the room, ignoring the wary gazes of the Kumo guards. The Kage looked on frustrated, but no one dare start a fight. They all knew that the Akatsuki wouldn't have a problem with targeting the village.

The Hokage sighed, that group was going to one-day giver her an aneurism.

"Shikaku, Kakashi… you may come out."

"So those were the shinobi that my son and his friends fought," the Nara head commented dryly.

"Kankuro… Temari… I know you are here."

The purple face-painted shinobi smile ashamed, "sorry Gaara, we just don't trust them… though I must say that they were calmer this time around."

A sneered in annoyance, "your ninja really don't know how to follow the simplest of orders."

"So… Gaara, who will you nominate?" his older brother asked hopefully.

"Yes Kages… who will you nominate?" added Shikaku.

Tsunade turned to him surprise, "wait you actually agree to this insane idea?"

The lazy genius nodded and to his displeasure he noticed that they wanted him to explain. "Hokage-sama, this will be our best chance to gather inside information on that notorious organization. I for one wish to know how they are alive and how, according to Kakashi, they are stronger then before? Yes, perhaps this will make them stronger, but it might end up turning some of them to our side."

He felt silent for a moment and said thoughtfully, "there is also the matter about what they plan to do with the bijū. They might not admit it, but they are surely up to something."

Ōnoki nodded stiffly, as did Gaara and Mei… seeing the wisdom, though the dangers in making such a decision were quiet obvious. A growled, these village leaders were really willing to work with that organization… it made him sick, but he knows when he has been out voted.

Kakashi turned to A, "Raikage-sama, I can assume that you won't be nominating anybody from your village."

The giant lightning wielder growled, "of course not. No one from my village has ever been associated with that organization and no one ever will!"

"Hey, Ojī-san!" Kurotsuchi walked calmly into the room. "You think I could go?" she asked, making it obvious that she had been eavesdropping.

Ōnoki sighed, really whom better could he nominate? He could guess that they were going to test any shinobi that they send.

"Akatsuchi and you will go, Kurotsuchi if things look bad and you believe your life is in danger… you leave."

"Now, Tsuchikage, don't you believe it best that we discuss who will go?" Mei asked disgruntledly.

"No," answered Gaara, "any village who wishes will nominate two shinobi. I'm sure that they will test them in some way and they will decided who joins… it will seem as though they have more power then us. It will also look like as though we are arguing among ourselves." He explained and turned to his siblings, "Kankuro, Temari… I trust the two of you the most and know that you won't be suck into their web of lies."

The puppeteer chuckled, "why thank you, otōto… I'll take that as one of the few compliments that you've ever given me."

"As you should… because there isn't much to compliment you about," their older sister commented dryly.

Kankuro sweat dropped and slumped, "why thank you, Temari…"

She smirked, "any time otōto."

Mei frowned and lower her head in shame, "my village won't be sending anyone into that detested organization. My people have suffered enough from their influence and not one of my shinobi should have to go."

Her voice got stronger with every word.

"I understand, Mizukage… my village has suffer just as much as the rest of you." Tsunade turned to Shikaku and Kakashi, who gave her a slight nod. "However, I know that there are some within my village that wish to understand these ninjas." She sighed, the blonde didn't really have a choice… the stubborn brat will just run off when the news reaches him. "Kakashi, forgive me," she mumbled and knew that the copy-nin heard her… piking his curiosity. "My apprentice… Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke will represent Konoha."

The silence that followed was deafening and Tsunade could only hope that the Akatsuki would turn the boy away. Truly, what use would they have for the young Uchiha… now that they have Itachi. Sasuke will then be returned to Konoha and with any luck the older Uchiha will reveal more details regarding that night.

The Nara head nodded and turned to the guard, "send word to Konoha that Sakura-san and Sasuke-san are to come to Kaminari no kuni (Lightning Country) at once. Also send a letter to the Akatsuki telling them that will send six shinobi for them to chose from and make sure to make it clear that the Kages wish to witness any test they wish to perform."

The guard looked nervously at the Raikage, though nodded and headed off.

**-o-o-o-**

The bird reached the Akatsuki a couple hours later. They were residing at an Inn in the village next to Kumogakure.

Konan reached for the bird and immediately sent it off with a two-word reply, informing the village leaders where they would meet in three days time.

"Nagato, they have sent word," the origami expert informed her partner. "We will have to test 6 shinobi and see if any of them are worthy."

"Does it say who they have nominated?"

Konan shook her head, "lets just hope that Konoha isn't stupid enough to nominate that Uchiha-gaki."

"Indeed…"

"However, Nagato what will be the tests?"

The rinnegan wielder shrugged, "the usual… of course."

She sighed, but grinned. "The Kages aren't going to be happy."

**-o-o-o-**

Three days passed without a hitch and Sasuke sat pretending to listen to another of the Hokage's lectures.

"Uchiha, are you listening to me?!" demanded Tsunade.

"Hn…"

"Why you little…" she sighed and attempted to calm down. "Listen in a few hours we are going to meet with the Akatsuki and you will see your brother. No matter what happens today, you insufferable brat, I expect not a single word out of you that will cause problems!"

Sasuke glowered, but gave the woman a stiff nod… really it wasn't worth the argument.

"Milady, is this really a good idea… I mean, what can I offer to such a group?" wondered Sakura.

"Sakura," Tsunade growled in annoyance. "You are a great medic and my student. You are a master at chakra control and one of the strongest kunoichi throughout the whole Konoha village." She looked at the two headstrong teens. "You two have to be aware that only two ninjas will be accepted into the organization."

Sasuke grunted, it would be ludicrous if he weren't accepted… he was one of the strongest shinobi of his generation. He could easily beat any of the other five participants.

"Good, lets go, the others are already waiting for us at the village gates." She said grumpily as she left the room. Sakura and Sasuke right on her heels.

The Konoha shinobi landed next to Kakashi… they had agreed that the copy-nin and Ao would accompany the Kages for them to scrutinize every move the Akatsuki make.

"All this is a drag," complained the Nara. He found it such a chore that he was being made to go on this troublesome journey and analyze their tactics and if needed come up with a strategy to defeat them.

The group quickly after, departed from the village, they would now have to wait and see what happens. None of them could say what was to happen and yet… none of them would ever admit it… but some of them were curious to see a group of shinobi such Akatsuki all together, at once.

* * *

**Well that is the end of chapter 8 and the start of a new Arc, just to inform all of you that are interested this will a rather long one. And before any of you start demanding when the romance will begin and the winning pairing will be reveal… I am sorry to inform you that will take awhile!**


	9. Rookie Pt2

**Oki, here is the next chapter… ooooh who is going to join Akatsuki; well you have to read and find out. So yeah I know I didn't post last week, but I had to focus on an older fic of mine. Well thank you everybody that have reviewed, favorited or followed and I hope you enjoy this… **

**On last thing… this is the first time that I really right multiple fight scenes in one chapter and especially with some of these characters. Plus, a great way to read this chapter and the one that follows is with listening to the theme's of the Akatsuki… I did write this chapter listening to those songs. **

* * *

Nightmares are what nightmares are.

We hide from our fears,

and don't look at the past.

What we do not know

or that we realize,

is that because of them…

we are who we are.

* * *

_**"Good, lets go, the others are already waiting for us at the village gates." She said grumpily as she left the room. Sakura and Sasuke right on her heels.**_

_**The Konoha shinobi landed next to Kakashi… they had agreed that the copy-nin and Ao would accompany the Kages for them to scrutinize every move the Akatsuki make.**_

_**"All this is a drag," complained the Nara. He found it such a chore that he was being made to go on this troublesome journey and analyze their tactics and if needed come up with a strategy to defeat them.**_

_**The group quickly after, departed from the village, they would now have to wait and see what happens. None of them could say what was to happen and yet… none of them would ever admit it… but some of them were curious to see a group of shinobi such Akatsuki all together, at once.**_

* * *

"They're late," an annoyed voiced growl.

"Yes, yes… and you hate to be kept waiting." A bored blonde snorted.

Sasori glared at his partner… he really hated the kid, at times.

"Yet, Sasori-danna, if you've been paying attention… they are but 600 meters away."

"Well, we all don't have metallic scopes that enhance our sight," the puppeteer snapped matter-of-factly.

Kisame snorted, Itachi was right… all those two ever do is bicker.

Nagato sighed and stared at the running water of the Gokage no kawa (Kages' river). Konan was correct in choosing this location… it provided an advantage for everyone of the Akatsuki.

"Deidara…?"

"Hai, Leader-sama… in… 3… 2… 1," as he finished… eleven shinobi appeared, lined-up, on the other side of the river.

Kisame jumped up and stood on top of the river, bringing out his sword and placing it in front of him.

"Took you long enough, the six 'candidates' will cross the river, the rest of you stay where you are… we are not interested or responsible if any of you get hurt."

Kankuro, Temari, Sakura… to Deidara's irritation… Akatsuchi, Kurotsuchi… and to the chagrin of half of Akatsuki… Sasuke.

"Fucking shit! They are predictable… Blondie, I hate to admit it, but you were fucking right!" barked Hidan. Kakuzu growled in annoyance at his partner disgraceful attics.

"Silence Hidan," commanded the 90 years old shinobi.

As the six nominees crossed the river, Kisame did a series of seals and forced his chakra into the moving water.

"Leader-sama… everything is prepared." The shark-man stated jumping back to stand beside his partner.

"Thank you, Kisame, for the next hours we'll be testing you six to see who has what it takes to be one of us."

The young Uchiha snorted, "this is a complete waste of time." He said arrogantly.

Deidara and Hidan burst out in laughter.

Kisame chuckled, "gaki… all six of you are too weak to be part of Akatsuki, in normal circumstances. Also it wouldn't be fair if you didn't go through the same hell that we did."

"Oi, Leader-sama, please tell them what the first task is… yeah!" Deidara exclaimed between laughs.

Nagato smirked, but pursued the blonde's train of thought. "You may back out at any given time," he waited to see if anybody would take the bait. "Admirable… the first task is psychological," he turned towards the red eyes shinobi, "Itachi…."

"Of course, Leader-sama," the Uchiha stepped forward and inwardly smirked as Kakashi, the Nara, the three Kages and the six nominees stiffened.

"For the duration of the next seconds, the six of you will experience the true power of my sharingan, as you experience your darkest nightmares… if your survive the upcoming 12 hours with your mind intact and depending on how you react to them… will determine if you continue."

Akatsuchi frowned, this is insane… this is torture and if he were to be honest with himself, this is something he never trained for. He knows that his mental defenses can't be said to be even good and if what the Akatsuki said is true… no. 'Please forgive me… Tsuchikage-sama.'

"I'm sorry, but I didn't come here to be tortured… my main duty is to protect the Tsuchikage and being part of this organization..."

Deidara laughed humorlessly, "kyojin-baka (giant idiot)… return to Ōnoki-sensei's side."

"Whatever, Deidara-kun," the large ninja jumped and landed on the other side of the river, besides the Tsuchikage.

Itachi acknowledged and looked over the other five.

"Anybody else… no… good," and locked eyes with his brother. "Sasuke, you cannot resist." He warned his otōto, knowing what he would most likely do and Pein wouldn't be pleased.

Itachi's chakra spiked, as his sharingan started to spin… rapidly catching the teens in his jutsu.

**-Kurotsuchi-**

Kurotsuchi stood in Iwagakure and what surprised her more was how real it all looked… and as she walked the streets and saw her reflection on one of the store windows… she froze. Kurotsuchi stared at her 13 years old self and wondered what could be so important about this time of her life.

After a few seconds, her eyes widened.

'No! I can't be…!'

Kurotsuchi looked up and her breath left her… there on a far off cliff… stood a big white bird.

'It's Deidara-nii… what…?' realization dawned on her. "No! it can't be.?!"

She took off in a sprint, hoping to reach the blonde in time. However, as she reached the village's gates… the white bird took off and flew straight for the village. All her thoughts that this was a genjutsu vanished and the joy she felt at thinking that nii-san was returning home, became all too real. It had been two years since she last saw him… though as he neared the village she saw what he was wearing and the sadistic grin on his face. Her smile froze and her eyes reflected the fear that was coursing through her body… the level of his chakra was unreal. It was a miracle that the whole village hadn't noticed it yet.

Deidara reached into his pouch and grinned down at the village that had abused him during his childhood. Squinting, Kurotsuchi, could just barely make out the form of the clay animal. It was a simple bird and with a quick seal, the bird flew through the mountains and into the village… with his signature seal, which Kurotsuchi recognized instantly, she hugged the wall for protection.

The blast was so powerful, it immediately knockdown a few of the surrounding buildings. Deidara didn't give the village a second to recuperate, sending another three birds to different areas of the village. The blasts went off one after the other… she couldn't do anything to stop him.

Kurotsuchi could only watch as her village crumbled around her…. Deidara didn't stop, he sent flocks after flocks, blowing up sector after sector of the village that the blonde use to call home.

Kurotsuchi could do nothing, but stare as her friends and family were killed all around her… and as her former friend observed gleefully at the destruction.

**-Temari-**

She stood at the entrance of her room, 'What am I doing here?'

She remembered being at the Gokage no kawa (Kages' river) in Kaminari no kuni (Lightning country) staring at the Uchiha's eyes.

'Yes, I remember now… a test… but what does the Suna no mura (Sand village) have to do with any of this?'

A giant roar broke her from her thoughts and as quickly as her small legs could take her… she reached the front door. Skidding to a halt, she took in the sight of the Ichibi….

"It is that night… 11 years ago, when father ordered Yashamaru to kill Gaara.'

The beast roared again and not knowing what to do… she watched as it made its way through the village and to her utmost horror towards their home. Nonetheless, the worst thing wasn't the beast, or the murderous chakra coming from it… or even the destruction of her village, but that deep down… somewhere under all that… was her adorable, shy otōto and she knows that he doesn't want to do this. Yet, it is this night that will drive her otōto off the edge and he will never be the same again.

**-Sakura-**

The pinkette slowly opened her eyes and looked around her. She was at Konoha's 11 last meeting place. Sakura could still remember vividly the last argument that occurred there. It really hadn't been fair, she understood their desire to know and if she hadn't been there when Naruto had spoken to Tsunade-sama… she would most likely be as clueless as them. However, Naruto was determined on staying quiet. Their friends just wanted to understand what in Kami's name had happened at the summit and with the rumors about Akatsuki and the unconfirmed truce… was unsettling.

One by one the members of Konoha's 11 started to show up, but what started getting on her nerves was that a single one of them gave any indication that they had seen her.

"Hey! You guys, what's going on?"

"Sakura… we've got to talk…" Ino started to say slowly.

"Ah, Ino get to the point!" interrupted Kiba. "Sakura… we've all come to the conclusion that you are holding us back."

Sakura stared at the Inuzuka speechless… "What.?!"

"You're a burden Sakura… you never do anything and always get in the way!" exclaimed Ino, finding her nerve.

Sakura's eyes widened and to her embarrassment they began to tear up.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said softly… however she could tell that he agreed with the others. It was this that finally broke her and her will disintegrated.

**-Sasuke-**

It took everything, Sasuke had to not resist his Aniki's jutsu as he was pulled into his mind and cursed his brother as the genjutsu became clearer the desire to resist grew. He was back in the Uchiha Compound and as he looked up at the sky, he glared at the full moon. Of course, his brother would send him back to relive this night… it is his worst memory and it's this night that marked him for the rest of his life.

On instincts and against his will his eight years old body started to make its way to his childhood home. He is dreading to see what is happening now with his parents, but he knows that Itachi will alter something. What surprised Sasuke, was that as he carefully entered the house Itachi sat… waiting on the spot where he slayed their parents.

"Hello, otōto, I believe that it will be best to talk…"

Sasuke growled, "what do you want, Itachi?"

"To tell you that it is foolish for you to be here, Leader-sama…"

"I don't care what that man says, I want to be with you Aniki… I am the strongest here."

Itachi shook his head, "that may be true… though know that that doesn't matter. You will bring only conflict into the organization."

The younger brother snorted, "why is that important?"

"Akatsuki fights wars as a whole, the organization has existed since the 3rd shinobi war and some of its members have been alive since even before than. In a time like this, we cannot deal with internal conflicts or members that will be unreliable during certain situations."

"How does that apply to me?"

"Sasuke have you gotten control over your emotions, can you forget about that night… when you witness me fighting with my katana, dripping our enemy's blood. Will I be able to count on you to watch my back and that you won't let the others get a rise out of you?"

As he spoke, Itachi to prove his point started to show his brother how he killed their clan and at the same time created images of the Akatsuki fighting.

"I know what you want Sasuke, you want me to want the destruction of Konoha and to leave the Akatsuki behind. However, know this… it might have been an order, but I do not regret what I did. Deep down, I did hate our clan and family.

**-o-o-o-**

Itachi looked at the shinobi as he smirked. It was interesting how the two Suna shinobi shared the same fear, but it was his brother that he was keeping an eye on. It would not be good for his health if he joined and as he had told Sasuke… there would be members that would live to just provoke him (cough… Deidara… cough). The twelve hours were almost up and he could still feel Kakashi's eye intently analyzing his every movement.

It really didn't matter, no matter how much the copy-nin hated to admit it. Itachi really was the heir of the sharingan, though unlike many others of his clan… he had yet to fall to the Curse of Hatred.

Slowly, one by one, they were released… each one dropping to their knees gasping.

Itachi tensed as he released his brother.

"You bastard!" exclaimed Sasuke as he felt the genjutsu clear. To no one's surprise, Sasuke rushed forward to attack…. Itachi without batting an eyelash, appeared behind his otōto and trapped him in a headlock.

"Why Itachi?!" demanded the younger Uchiha. "Everybody was always praising you and no matter what I did Chichi (Father) never acknowledged me!... it was when he finally saw me as his son that you had to kill everybody."

Itachi sighed, "Sasuke have you ever thought that perhaps I didn't want you to end up like me? You loved our family… and I've hated what they turned me into. You have no idea what the clan was really like." He shook his head with deep disappointment. "Go Sasuke… you have not learned control, Akatsuki is not the right place for you."

Itachi let him go… Sasuke stumbled back in shock at his brother's honesty.

"Itachi… what do you say?" asked Nagato in an attempt to avoid a fight.

"Kurotsuchi, Haruno Sakura, Sabaku no Temari and Sabaku no Kankuro… they passed, barely," he said as an after thought.

Nagato nodded, "Thank you Itachi, you may rest."

Itachi bowed his head and walked over to sit with the others.

Kakashi's eyebrow twitched, what the jigoku (hell) is going on? Itachi didn't seem to be effected by the Mangekyō.

Nagato turned towards the remaining four, "rest and prepare… you will be fighting one of my members in a couple of minutes."

Temari forehead ticked, "what! We just experience our own personal jigoku! Now you want us to fight?!"

There were a few seconds of awkward silence… until Deidara and Hidan burst out in hysterical laughter. Nagato smirked. He will let his members inform her of how things work, and he could tell that the girl was getting angry.

Sakura and Kankuro stared at their friend/sister in shook. They could not believe that Temari would talk like that to the leader of the S-rank organization.

"Girl, we are not the villages," Deidara said between laughs. "Do not forget who we are! S-class criminals, who long ago were forced to face our nightmares and became the fears of others."

Nagato nodded, he couldn't have said it better himself. Yes, perhaps this wasn't what Yahiko had originally planned for Akatsuki, but the world would not permit for their naïve thinking.

"Konan…"

"Yes, Nagato," she mumbled as she stepped forward.

The Kages and Konoha shinobi watched in amazement as the blue haired kunoichi broke into hundreds of paper planes. Before Temari could argue further or regret what she had said… a dozen paper shuriken flew her way. Temari wasn't fast enough to open her fan in time.

She hissed in pain as the shuriken pierced her skin. Sakura, Kankuro and Kurotsuchi jumped away in surprise.

"My members will be handicapped… they are not allow to attack with the intent to kill." The dark redhead informed in a bored voice, "for you to be considered, you must hold your own against one us for a minimum of 2 minutes."

**-Temari vs Konan-**

'Shit!' Temari exclaimed inwardly. Her opponent's form appeared in front of her a few feet above the ground, pieces of paper were lazily floating around them. Temari stared analytically at the paper user, noticing how it was the paper that gave her form… perhaps if… 'yeah, their leader never said I couldn't kill her.'

Temari picked up her fan and gave it a hard wave, sending her chakra inside the wind; Fūton: Kazekiri no jutsu (Wind Style: Wind Blade jutsu). The wind blades shot forward and sliced Konan into pieces. Temari smirked victoriously, but to her disappointment steel harden paper arrows shot from various directions towards her. The attacked happened too fast for her to defend herself properly, only being able to block a portion of the arrows. She cried out in pain as the remaining arrows pierced her skin deeply this time around, though avoiding vital points.

Gaara and Kankuro tensed, fighting the urge to jump in and assist their shimai (sister).

'Come one Temari, you can do it… show them that you are no pushover!'

Few of the shinobi stood surprised as a few of the arrows imbedded into the ground around the blonde, exploded, forcing Temari to jump and use her fan as a shield.

"Temari!" exclaimed Kankuro.

Nagato didn't bother to stand up from where he was leaning… Konan won't kill the girl and to the girl's luck, Konan wasn't as blood thirsty as other members. Half of the burū tenshi manifested, white paper wings forming on both her sides.

Shikaku stared at the battle closely, analyzing, this was one of the few members that they barely had any Intel on and he could already tell that Temari was at a disadvantage. While her jutsu kept the Akatsuki at a distance, the paper jutsu was one of a kind. The first thing he noticed was that the Akatsuki's natural weaknesses would be fire and water, however he was positive that she had a way around these.

Kakashi uncovered his sharingan and clenched his jaw in frustration. Even with this eye, he couldn't tell how the jutsu worked. It was obvious that the paper she uses was infused with her chakra, but how she managed to control it so precisely was nothing short of impressive. The Suna kunoichi was going to have to be careful with her chakra levels… that woman was to be fought carefully. The copy-nin couldn't help but wonder what was her relationship with the rinnegan wielder. The redhead leader hadn't taken his eyes off her since the beginning of the fight.

Temari cursed again as she tried to push the blue haired kunoichi back. Perhaps, if she were able to work out a strategy… she could immobilize this frustrating jutsu. She cursed whatever deity, that was watching that she wasn't a suiton (water style) or katon (fire style) user. Her fūton (wind style) wasn't useless, it managed to cut and slice the paper… but the smaller pieces could still be controlled by the Akatsuki kunoichi and she'd learn, the painful way, that it was still as dangerous and trickier to dodge.

Konan smirked inwardly, this girl is strong and determine… but her hot headedness isn't something that the organization needs. Plus, her inability to follow a simple order… yes they may have a choice, but once decided they were to follow Nagato's lead and work together to achieve their goal.

"Sabaku no Temari," Nagato interrupted, jumping between the two kunoichi. "Your time is up and you haven't been able to get close to Konan once… though you're still standing and able to continue that in itself is impressive."

Temari frowned, but decided to not argue. She was tire and if their leader hadn't stopped the fight… she would have had to use her summon.

"Konan rest… we will discuss who joins after all the matches." The Uzumaki commanded.

The blue-head nodded and as she turned she stated. "You did well… considering…"

The blonde fumed, "considering what?!"

Konan shrugged, "that it was Madara who defeated me after I nearly killed him." She elaborated as it was nothing… the three Kages were dying to ask her what had happened.

Temari stared at the back of the origami expert in awe, this woman is something else.

**-o-o-o-**

"Deidara you are up next," the bomber nodded with an insane grin. "No C3 or C4… definitely no C0, nothing that expands more then 3 meters of a diameter. Beware and be cautious to not harm any of the bystanders."

Deidara's grin dropped and he scowled, whatever when they first arrived… he had dropped a couple fish sculptures into the river. Sending out a silver of chakra, he made sure that his creations were still swimming steadily against the soft current.

He sighed in disappointment, "alright… yeah. So who am I fighting, un?"

To the bomber's glee, Nagato-sama turned and looked at the painted-nin.

Kankuro sneezed and looked up, catching the blonde's insane gaze.

"Great, yeah, the brat Danna defeated when we captured the Ichibi, hmm." He reached into one of his pouches and smirked as the young puppeteer tensed. "Leader-sama, can I just get this over with, yeah?"

The Uzumaki shrugged one shoulder, "do as you wish… just make sure you don't kill anybody."

**-Kankuro vs Deidara-**

Deidara gave a stiff nod and made a delicately sculptured eagle. The bird expanded and the ex-Iwa-nin jump on top of it. "Perfect… this is the perfect opportunity to show Sasori-danna that my art is superior, yeah!"

The master puppeteer grunted, but decided to give his partner some last minute advice.

"Brat, don't get cocky… remember we couldn't locate my previous body."

The nineteen years old smirked, "yes Danna. I can't think of anyone else that would know how to wield it."

Kankuro sweat dropped, well there went his element of surprise.

Temari and Gaara snorted in disgust, recalling all the hours their brother had put into learning how to control that doll.

"Hey that's not fair!" protested Kankuro.

"Stop your complaining, shrimp-fry, we're ninjas and our lives have never been particularly fair, yeah."

The Suna-nin grunted and jumped back a few feet, Deidara gave him the time necessary to summon his puppet. He frowned as he looked at the familiar face.

'_Sasori-danna, this is just weird,_' he subconsciously sent the thought through the link.

"Whatever, yeah, I've always wanted to fight Danna." He commented.

Kankuro eyes narrowed in realizing his disadvantage. This guy was aware of his puppets secrets. The bomber was also a long-range fighter and his puppets were susceptible to blowing up and burning like anything else.

"Man! Can't I fight anybody else?!" asked Kankuro to no one specifically. 'Damn it! This is the guy that defeated Gaara and nearly killed Sasuke… how am I supposed to even survive?!'

Nagato glared at the puppeteer, really the brat can offer nothing to Akatsuki. If he recalled correctly, Sasori defeated him rather quickly. The kid isn't going to join (unless he really defeats Deidara, and that's not likely to happen), he's just entertainment for the bomber. His puppets give him the distance to be safe from the explosions and unlike his sister… keep the destruction within a small area.

Deidara frowned and took advantage of his opponent's distraction, he threw a few low level bombs. "If I were you… I would look up, yeah." He stated forming the bird seal.

Kankuro's eyes widened and pulled his puppet out of danger at the last possible second.

"Katsu!"

* * *

**Well there you have it and I hope to see you next week. Please review, oh and I almost forgot have any of you guessed who will be paired up with Sakura yet… or are things not clear yet?**


	10. Rookie Pt3

**Here is the next chapter and more fight scenes are to come, Sakura be awaited true depute is here and I hope that you all enjoy. Plus if any of you are up to date with the manga… then you must agree that Kishimoto loves to torture us… the long awaited battle between Sasuke and Naruto is final here! **

**So in other news, in this pointless author note… I am still going through the Bleach episodes and manga… and more and more I am loving the Captains of the Gotei 13. And I must admit that an idea has been going stirring my head for a possible fanfic/crossover. **

**Captain Hitsugaya would of course be the protagonist and there would not be any major pairings. So if you have any thoughts on this please let me know, though be nice on the spoilers I have to admit that I am not up to date with the current manga chapters… I still have a long way to go… I'm only in the late 300s! T_T**

**So here is the chap and I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

**Blah blah**** Author's notes**

"Blah blah" Normal dialog

"_Blah blah_" Communication Jutsu

'Blah blah' Thoughts

* * *

What were are…

it is simple.

There are no questions

and we all agree….

We are freaks!

* * *

_**Deidara frowned and took advantage of his opponent's distraction, he threw a few low level bombs. "If I were you… I would look up, yeah." He stated forming the bird seal.**_

_**Kankuro's eyes widened and pulled his puppet out of danger at the last possible second.**_

_**"Katsu!"**_

* * *

The Hokage and Kazekage, plus the chūnin and jōnin looked at the explosions nervously. One wrong move from either one of them and the outcome would be bloody.

The Tsuchikage snorted, 'same old Deidara, loves getting people nerves… when it honestly is a wasted effort.'

"Kazekage, Hokage relax… the brat isn't as stupid as he makes everybody believe. Truth be told Kazekage, your brother really doesn't stand a chance."

Gaara turned and gave the old man a questioning look.

"He is a prodigy and my student," Ōnoki grunted the last two words. "Also a genius at last minute strategies… I'm sure you witnessed this when you fought him." The old man's gaze drifted towards Sasori, who was watching the fight with a bore expression.

The younger shinobi realized who the Tsuchikage was staring at and he hated to admit it that he had been thinking the same thing.

"Deidara is just playing around with Kankuro, Akatsuki already has a Puppet Master."

Ōnoki grunted in agreement as he checked back on the fight. Deidara was on the offensive, taunting the younger ninja and to his great amusement Kankuro was starting to loose his temper.

The blonde was throwing batch after batch of small grade bombs at the puppeteer and at the same time dodging the puppets blades.

Kankuro grinded his teeth in frustration… the damn idiot wouldn't stay still and he had to be vigilant for those bombs. He smirked as an idea popped into his head. With a chakra-induced jump, he steadied himself on top of the river.

Deidara lowered the bird in front of Kankuro at the river's ledge.

"I win, yeah."

Kankuro grinned, "are you sure…? Then look behind you…" and as Deidara turned a puppet rushed towards the explosive expert, with not enough time to dodge… he cursed.

The sword pierced him directly were his heart was. Ōnoki, Kurotsuchi stared in shock… however deep down they should've remembered that Deidara's biggest weakness was his arrogance.

Kankuro smirked, 'sorry… but that was pay back for kidnapping my otōto.'

"Hey! You idiotic Blondie stop with the damn dramatics!" yelled the albino.

"Aaah!" groaned the nuke-nin, "damn poison… stings!"

The Kages and jōnin's eyes widened. Shikaku couldn't help but groan, 'not another one,' his eyes drifted towards Sasuke, 'but I wonder… how did he kill him?'

"W-what?! H-how are you still alive?!" demanded the young puppeteer.

"What's the meaning of this Deidara?!" yelled the Tsuchikage.

Sasori sighed, 'Brat let himself get hurt. He just wanted all this drama and attention.'

Deidara chuckled and pushed the sword out of his chest. Kankuro swiftly maneuvered his puppet away from the bomber.

"Since you ask… oh so nicely, Ōnoki-sensei, I'll tell you… but first," he turned and grinned at the Suna-nin. "If I were you I'd get off that river, yeah."

Kankuro, without thinking it twice, jumped up and landed on the side of the Kages.

"Katsu!"

'He could have killed me the moment I landed on the river!' Kankuro thought as he stared open mouthed at the gulf of hot water that erupted.

**-o-o-o-**

"That Kinjutsu did more to my body then just give me these mouths, yeah," he held up his hands as they grinned and stuck out their tongues. "It completely changed my chakra network and my anatomy… where my fourth mouth is located… where my heart is supposed to be… what's keeping alive now, is my chakra." He laughed dryly, "you can say that I am a heartless being."

"Deidara-nii…" murmured Kurotsuchi.

He laughed once more, letting everybody see how mentally unstable he really is.

"Yeah, you can say I figured out why that jutsu is forbidden…. If not for how vast my chakra reserve is I would have died… I survive purely because of my chakra."

Shikaku stared dumbly at the blonde, 'what is up with these people… all of them are one thing or another.'

"Deidara…" Nagato said in a level voice.

The blonde took in a deep breath and clamed down, "yes Leader-sama," he said as he directed his bird and flew to where Sasori sat. Jumping off the eagle and sitting next to his partner, the bird lay but a few feet from them.

Nobody said anything else, either to shook or not really caring about what the ex-Iwa-nin had just revealed.

Kakashi stared at the blonde shinobi, not believing his own eye and what it was showing him. Where his heart was supposed to be… was a large ball of chakra. This shouldn't been impossible.

"Kisame, you are next," their leader stated… breaking them all out of their retrieve.

The blue man grinned, "great… so who will I be fight?"

"Haruno Sakura…" he said and turned to the girl.

Kisame followed his gaze, "w-what… pinky?!" he asked incredulously.

"Yes," Nagato said firmly.

Sakura looked up at hearing her name, grinding her teeth at the shark-mans tone of voice.

"What did you say… fish-face?!"

Everybody turned and stared at her, after a few blinks… Deidara and Hidan started to snicker.

"Fish… face! Fucking shit, girls got balls!"

"She is feisty… yeah! She might actually survive being Akatsuki, un!"

Kisame snorted humorlessly, "alright… but Leader-sama, I take no responsibility if the little girl gets hurt or anything."

"Kisame…" Nagato and Itachi said as a warning.

**-Sakura vs Kisame-**

"Positive… well whose says I'll let you get close enough to touch me," she asked putting on her leather gloves.

"Cocky… little girl, I'll show you your place," snapped the shark-nin as he brought forth his sword.

Sakura smirked and without any warning threw 3 kunais towards the fish. Kisame with close to no effort, blocked the kunais with his massive sword. Though before he could move another step, the pinkette was rushing towards him, jumping into the air and preparing a punch. Kisame leapt backwards with a smirk, 'bitch was going to have to be faster then that.'

As Sakura's punch made contact with the ground… the earth exploded and cracked… the destruction made a straight line for her opponent.

Kisame cursed as he jumped into the air again. 'Interesting… better level out the playing field?' he thought with a grin. 'Itachi is going to kill me."

"Suiton: Bakasui Shōha (Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave)!"

A large quantity of water erupted from his mouth, the Kages' eyes widened as the Akatsuki vomited an ocean.

'The amount of chakra is unreal,' Shikaku thought with exasperation.

The members of Akatsuki frowned as the strong waves reached where they had been observing. Sasori and Deidara to the chagrin of the other shinobi took to the sky, the bird lazily started to fly circles over their heads.

Sakura cursed and with a chakra infused jumped, saw how the destruction she had made was cover up. As she landed the waves started to calm down, Kisame was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit! Where is he?" she murmured.

Deidara smirked when he spotted the lazy shadow of the shark. He wondered if the pinkette would be able to find the elusive fish. A few seconds passed and the bomber was getting bore and impatient with the girl's short sightedness.

"Kunoichi! Five meters to your right!" he called down.

Everybody looked at him in surprise, 'why is blondie helping the girl?' the question was present inside all their minds.

Sakura turned in the direction the blonde had pointed out, barely able to see anything there. 'Is the lunatic playing a joke on me?' she clenched her jaw in annoyance. 'Why I'll show…' though before she could finish that thought, Kisame jumped out of the water half a meter from where she stood. He swung his sword over his shoulder… Sakura was barely able to block the massive sword, her kunai holding it back from touching her.

"Deidara! You brat! What are you up to?!" demanded Kisame.

The blonde swop down just enough for Kisame to see his face, Deidara shrugged. "I'm bored, un…"

Sakura grunted as she pumped more chakra into her arm, in an attempt to push away the wrapped sword. 'This 'man's' chakra and strength is unreal.'

Kisame grinned sadistically and with a drop more of chakra forced down Samehada. Sakura paled as the blue skin shark's grin widened.

"You should know…"

"Sakura get away from him!" yelled Kakashi, remembering what the blade had done to Asuma.

'Too late,' Kisame smirked showing pointed teeth.

"Samehada, doesn't slice… it shreds you to ribbons!" he growled the last part as purple scales ripped through the wrappings and embedded themselves into her shoulder.

Sakura gasped in pain and as sudden Kisame pulled back, shredding her skin.

"Aaahhh!"

"Sakura!" exclaimed Kakashi, Shikaku and Tsunade.

She felled backwards and knelt down, 'damn that hurt and my arm is now completely useless.'

Kisame grinned as he jumped back, knowing that he couldn't harm the girl any further. He watched as she gathered her chakra into her hand and placed it on her injured arm. Her green chakra rapidly began to stitch her skin back together. Though to her surprise and that to everyone's that knows her, her chakra flickered out.

"W-what is going on?" she whispered in surprise.

Kisame chuckled, "seems nobody told you… little girl… Samehada also absorbs my enemies' chakra once contact has been made. Little girl… and you seem to have a small chakra reserve… pity this could have gotten interesting."

"Nonsense, I can still fight!" declared the stubborn girl as she shakily stood up.

"Nagato call the fight… the girl's stubbornness will be her death." Konan said matter-of-factly.

The Uzumaki looked at her slightly surprised that she would care.

"The girl has potential and isn't intimidated by us. She'll speak her mind and from what we've seen her healing abilities surpass that of Sasori." She explained barely as if it were the most obvious thing.

'As she wishes,' he thought. '_Kisame that is enough…we've seen everything that we need._'

**-o-o-o-**

Kisame grunted and sent Nagato an annoyed look. He turned around and started to walk away from her.

"Don't turn your back on me… I'm not finished yet!" yelled Sakura in frustration.

"Orders are orders, little girl, and I don't feel like getting into an argument with Itachi and Nagato." He said, waving his hand dismissively.

'Nagato…?'

'Who's Nagato…?'

'What orders, nobody has said anything…'

The Akatsuki's eyes widened realizing Kisame's slip.

'The idiot!'

'He has a bigger mouth then Hidan.'

'Well perhaps this at last will get interesting, hmm.'

Nagato smiled inwardly, 'at last they are starting to see that all within Akatsuki are equals… Yahiko I'll change this organization into something better.'

"What orders, your leader hasn't said anything?!" demanded the pinkette.

Kisame shrugged, "ah the mysteries of Akatsuki… perhaps if you join we'll tell you our secrets."

"Enough! This fight is over! kunoichi go get treatment and stop being stubborn." Nagato looked at the white bird. "Sasori…"

"Hn," brown eyes turned to look at the girl from Iwagakure. "Kisame get rid of this water."

Kisame grumbled as he slammed his hand down over the ocean… it slowly disappeared.

Sasori jumped down from the bird and landed on the recently dried grass.

"Danna, you better not lose or you'll be proving that my art is superior!" taunted Deidara.

'Stupid Brat,' he sighed, 'seems I don't have a choice.'

Kurotsuchi smirked and walked towards the puppet master, 'there is no way that I will lose to a boy that fights with toys.'

"So you're Deidara-nii's partner… I have to ask, how did you get nii-san to respect you?" the Iwa kunoichi said as she stepped forward.

The Tsuchikage paid close attention, Deidara from a young age has always been a handful… and for him to listen to anybody was close to a miracle.

Sasori hummed as he pulled out a scroll, "the Brat has learn to keep his mouth shut when need be and contrary to popular belief he isn't an idiot."

Onoki clenched his jaw… the bright redhead didn't reveal anything new or useful.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… just get this over with Sasori-danna. You do hate to keep people waiting, right!" yelled Deidara.

The bright redhead growled and in a speed that astonished the young kunoichi… a kunai flew towards Deidara. The bomber lazily dodged the weapon and smirked smugly at his partner.

**-Kurotsuchi vs Sasori-**

"Hn," Sasori turned to the younger Iwa-nin. "Unfortunately, he is correct."

She barely heard him mutter as he unsealed his puppet.

"If you are hit with any of my weapons… this fight is over," he turned his amber eyes o his puppet. "To make this more interesting… I will not use the Third."

Sakura head snapped up, 'wait didn't I…?'

"I destroyed that puppet, Sasori!"

The puppeteer chuckled, "you did… however the center was still intact and I was able to put it back together."

The pinkette grumbled in irritation and as Sasori's explained there was a visible twitch of his finger as it forced the puppet into action.

Kurotsuchi cursed as the pig tailed puppet rush towards her holding its swords over its head, prepared to strike her down. She jumped up and to her exasperation the puppet followed her. Kurotsuchi was in a disadvantage, she was a mid-rang to close-range fighter… though from what she knows of all the puppeteers their weakness is close-range. Her only problem is… how the fucking hell was she supposed to get close enough to the puppeteer with his pesky puppet chasing her.

Sasori quickly grew bore of this game of tag and flicked another finger, to the surprise of the kunoichi… the puppet stopped and held it's arm towards her.

The idiotic girl smirked, 'perfect this is my chance,' and started to perform a series of seals.

Sasori shook his head and with a push of chakra, two latches opened from the sides of the arm… revealing the kanji for senbon. Kurotsuchi stopped her seals half way and looked at the puppet skeptically, not sure of what is was going to do.

The puppet master sighed and activated the seal. The Tsuchikage's granddaughter's eyes widened and at the last second possible covered herself with a Doton: Chikyū Dōmu (Earth Style: Earth Dome).

She sighed in relief and smirked, 'I can sneak up on him.' Without releasing the dōmu (dome), she sunk into the ground and silently made her way to the ex-Suna-nin. When she guessed that she was behind him, she released both jutsus and jumped up ready to strike and plummet a kunai into his stomach.

Regrettably and to their bewilderment/horror/amusement… Sasori blocked her attack with relative ease and kick her back, right into the path of his puppet's sword. The sword didn't pierce her very deep and normally any shinobi could have kept on fighting with the superficial wound. Still, her opponent was Sasori and they all knew that the fight was over.

* * *

**Well there you go… the end of another action packed chapter and… so I have a semi-good reason as to why I have been updating and though some of you might want to throw rotten vegetables my way… please don't! **

**I just couldn't write without knowing the creation of Akatsuki or at least the version that is given to us in the latest Naruto game. **

**Have to say that I have been going none stop in the last few days and it was during beating the shit out of some random idiot that the writing bug bite, yippie!**


	11. Rookie Pt4

**Finally a highly anticipated chapter is finally here… yuppie and I would like to apologize to you all… for some reason wasn't letting me login into my account via my computer making difficult for me to update. So right now I am on an improvised vacations, I'm in Miami bitch! And it really is a miracle that I decided to update while I am here. **

**So yeah… I'll like to thank every single one of you that has read this story, favorite, followed or reviewed. No matter what it may appear, I am still going strong with this one and I really do I hope to see it all the way through. Nonetheless and if you are a fan of my other fics… especially Yu-Gi-Oh you should be happy to here that I am working on them as well and are slightly the reason why I am not updating this as regular as I once did. **

**Well enough of my babbling and here is the chap… I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

To become more

there needs to be change.

We cannot be the rock,

we much be the flowing water…

that never stops.

* * *

_**She sighed in relief and smirked, 'I can sneak up on him.' Without releasing the dōmu (dome), she sunk into the ground and silently made her way to the ex-Suna-nin. When she guessed that she was behind him, she released both jutsus and jumped up ready to strike and plummet a kunai into his stomach.**_

_**Regrettably and to their bewilderment/horror/amusement… Sasori blocked her attack with relative ease and kick her back, right into the path of his puppet's sword. The sword didn't pierce her very deep and normally any shinobi could have kept on fighting with the superficial wound. Still, her opponent was Sasori and they all knew that the fight was over.**_

* * *

She collapsed onto her knees, her breathing was already labored… to her relief the puppets disappeared and Sasori walked towards the chuckling blonde.

Sakura rushed over to bun haired girl and without asking, started to look over the wound. 'Good, it isn't very deep… but the poison is already taking effect. Shit! She doesn't have the time for me to make an antidote. That had to be a very potent dose for it to be taking such a heavy toll so fast.'

As she lifted her head, her eyes filled with anger and frustration… a vile landed on her lap. Her anger was immediately pushed to the back of her mind and was replaced with curiosity.

"The antidote," a voice explained dryly.

She looked down at the bottle distrustfully, Sasori sighed in exasperation. "You heard Leader-sama, we are not here to kill… though… regardless if you don't give it to her. Her death won't be my fault."

The nuke-nin walked off to rest on a near rock.

"J-just g-give it t-to me," the Iwa-nin said between huffs of breath. "If it doesn't w-work, either way I'm d-dead."

Sakura snorted in annoyance and without thinking about it more, stabbed the girl with the small needle at the end of the vile.

Kurotsuchi's breath hitched for a moment, but soon returned to its regular pace. The color was slowly returning to her checks and her temperature was going down. Flickering the chakra to her hand, Sakura closed the wound. The two girls stood up, Kurotsuchi albeit shakily.

Nagato looked around the field, the Kages weren't really pleased and he was sure that the Nara and copy-nin were going to share everything they had learned today.

"Kakuzu, Hidan…?"

"They are all brats… so whatever."

"As the bastard said, fucking whatever… just know that if you piss me off, I'll fucking sacrifice you to Jashin-sama!"

"Pink-eyes, shut up will you… none of really care, yeah!"

Kisame snorted, "for once… I agree with Blondie."

The four nominees stared speechless at the nuke-nins, not believing that some of the world's most feared shinobi were joking around as if they weren't surrounded by very edgy ninjas.

Nagato shook his head and looked at Konan briefly. '_They are a weird bunch._'

'_Yes… never a dull moment when we're all together._'

Kakashi looked intently at the leaders as they silently communicated and not even with the full attention of his sharingan could he figure the jutsu out. With a last nod and what looked like a half smile, the redhead turned to the waiting/confused shinobi.

"Haruno Sakura, Sabaku no Temari… the two of you will be coming with us." He looked at them from the corner of his eyes and gave them an icy glare. "You two showed the most potential of the four and you will also be the most tolerable within our organization."

The two girls gulped and turned to look silently at the Kages.

"This is your last chance… if you wish to back out…" added Konan. "This has to be your decision, not even the Kages have a say in this."

Temari and Sakura nodded, not able to meet anybody else's eyes.

Temari stared at the clouds and thought, 'I had not expected of coming this far and thought of joining the organization that nearly killed my otōto… it is just unthinkable, but putting that aside. It's true that we, the villages, need all the information possible on the Akatsuki and what better way then from an inside source.'

Sakura sparred a quick glance at her former sensei and teammate (who was being uncharacteristically quiet). 'Can I really do this, join the organization that has been hunting Naruto for almost that pass 4 years. A group where Sasuke's bastard of a brother belongs… yet they say they can make me stronger and yes I will become better if it means protecting my teammate and best friend… Naruto.' She took in a deep breath as she steeled her nerves. 'Yes, if Naruto could face his demon and win… I will do the same.'

Looking straight at the rinnegan wielder both girls' eyes filled with determination, "I accept." They both said at the same time.

Nagato inclined his head, "as you wish… Kisame, Itachi head to Kusa (Grass) and inform them to get ready for war. Hidan and Kakuzu go to Ishi (Stone) and tell them as well."

"Shit! Why can't the fucking blonde bitch go!" demanded the Jashinist.

Kakuzu growled and glared in annoyance at his partner. "Hidan, shut it… the more you complain, the longer this will take."

"But Kakuzu…"

"Hidan… if you don't quite it, I'll give your head to Deidara for him to fly it somewhere far away." He threatened, "I'm sure we'll all enjoy the quiet very much and forget about you soon after."

The masked-nin didn't wait for a reply and started to walk away.

"Kakuzuuu…" whined Hidan as he reluctantly followed him.

Nagato sighed as he inwardly rolled his eyes. "You two will go with Deidara and Sasori, you'll be extremely busy these up coming weeks."

Tsunade stepped forward, but stopped when she felt the chakra in the running water.

"Pein, this wasn't what we agreed on!"

"Perhaps Hokage, but you don't wish for your kunoichi to be killed and for that not to happen these girls must get stronger." Konan said coldly.

"Shishou don't worry about me, I did survive your training after all." Sakura took in a deep breath, "just tell Naruto that I'll be fine."

"Hai! Gaara, will be fine," Temari said positively.

Gaara bowed his head in understanding, yet he couldn't help but send a glare at the bomber.

"Kid, lets go… if the Zombie Brothers beat us back to Amegakure, I'll never hear the end of it and if I am destine to suffer… well your life won't be any easier." Kisame grumbled.

"Then get moving, Kisame," the Uchiha said as he dispersed into dozens of crows. Kisame cursed and sprinted out of sight.

"Damn Uchiha…" they heard him murmured.

Sasuke stared at where his brother had been, his brother had ignored him as usual.

"Itachi…!"

"Ah, shut it, yeah! This isn't the time for your sibling dispute."

Sasuke grated his teeth and glared daggers at the loudmouth bomber.

"Deidara… leave," ordered the rinnegan wielder.

The blonde grunted and smirked evilly at the two kunoichi, throwing and expanding another clay bird. It landed in front of the distrusting girls.

"What?!" demanded the sandy blonde. "Do you expect us to do with that?!"

He rolled his eye, "get on it. We're flying back to Amegakure."

Sakura stared at the bird with disgust, there was nothing safe about this and they will have to trust the artist to not explode or throw them off the bird.

"Why can't we walk?" the pinkette asked diplomatically.

Deidara snorted, "you will likely slow us down… getting my impatient partner here angry… which will lead to one of you getting hurt."

Temari scoffed in disagreement and anger, "I don't know about you Blondie… but I'm sure we can keep up."

Deidara expression darken at the nickname, Sasori clenched his jaw… getting impatient with this pointless argument.

"We won't be stopping anytime soon, and won't wait if either of you get tire." The puppeteer drawled.

"Just get on the damn bird, yeah, your refusal and stubbornness will drive us mad and get you two kill."

Shikaku's eyes narrowed as he eavesdropped on the conversation, this group of shinobi was full of counter dictions. They talk about having a choice, yet they followed their leader without a word of disagreement. Plus, from what he had seen they argued and joked around, but as easily threatened each other with a gruesome death.

Sakura and Temari shared a knowing look and with a disgruntle sigh jumped on board the bird. Because of all the trouble they but him through, Deidara jerked the bird upward making the girls loose their balance and kneel as to not fall.

Deidara chuckled as Sasori hit him on the back of his head.

"Stop messing around, Brat."

"Yeah, yeah, just couldn't resist, hmm."

Without another word, he ordered his birds to gain attitude and start to fly towards Ame.

'_Dispel your birds when you reach Amegakure and go to the base outside the village. Once there wait for the others to arrive… we will discuss what will do afterwards._'

"Hai, Nagato-sama," murmured the explosive expert at the unspoken orders.

**-o-o-o-**

Their journeys were all completed rather quickly and to the dismay of Deidara, Itachi and Kisame arrived at the base a day after they did. Kakuzu and Hidan arrive three days later, Hidan's foal mouth was rapidly getting on the girls' nerves. Temari and Sakura had been assigned to share a room, which they barely left except when their hunger or thirst won out. Both of the kunoichi were surprised when none of the members came looking for them, though they had heard Hidan's mad religion ramblings, Deidara's angry and explosive yells and Kisame's loud mocking laughter.

It was on their 5th day that a knock resonated through their room.

"Kunoichis come down to the common room, Leader wishes to speak with all of us." Kisame informed them not bothering to wait and see if they were going to follow him.

Temari sighed as she stood up from the bed, "better see what that prick wants."

Sakura nodded as she exited the room.

As they made their way to the crowded room, Sakura stopped dead in her tracks to stare at the transparent form.

"W-what is that?" she stuttered.

Temari looked over the pinkette's shoulder, "huh… oh… it seems to be that communication jutsu. They used it at the summit. Honestly, I have no idea how it works." She murmured the last part grumbly.

The transparent chakra form turned and looked at the girls, they immediately recognized the ringed eyes.

"Now that you're all here, the eight of you should be inform of what is going on. Madara has not been spotted yet, but Konan and I believe that he is using the power of the Gedo Statue in creating his Zetsu army. It was confirmed this morning that Konoha's Mokuton (Wood Style) user has been captured."

Sakura gasped, 'no! Captain Yamato!'

"He'll use Tenzo to make the white Zetsu clones stronger," added the Uchiha dryly.

"Most likely, but that isn't the worse part, for the last three months there have been a series of reports regarding grave robbery."

The Akatsuki tensed, though Sakura couldn't understand what could be worse then Captain Yamato being kidnapped.

Sasori drew their attention as he cursed, "damn that Kabuto… he must have promised Madara that jutsu."

"What are you talking about?"

"As I stated before, Madara has allied himself with Kabuto… and Kabuto has most likely promised the Uchiha the Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Incarnation)."

Sakura froze, the jutsu that Orochimaru used to defeat the Sandaime Hokage.

"What the fuck Nagato, you can't tell us there's more!" Hidan's loud complaining brought her back to reality.

The chakra form nodded gravely, "unfortunately yes… two weeks ago, Konohagakure no Danzō was reported missing. What the Hokage failed to mention was that all his R.O.O.T. operates disappeared with him."

The Konoha kunoichi resisted the urge to scream in exasperation, first Yamato and now Sai… was her team destine to fall apart.

"What do you wish for us to do?" asked Kakuzu.

"Tobi/Madara was once part of this organization for many years and knows everyone's weaknesses… so for the time being you will all be training." His cold gaze turned to their newest 'members', "especially you two."

The two kunoichi bristled, but wisely stayed quiet.

"Sabaku no Temari, your main objective will be to work on your taijutsu, stamina and chakra control… and if Itachi deems it worth the effort you'll be train in genjutsu. Haruno Sakura… the same will apply to you, however you'll be spending some time with Kakuzu to determine what element you are affiliated with. Sasori, Itachi, when you reckon them ready… report back to Konan or myself." The group was silent for a few seconds, "I can trust the rest of you know what you have to work on."

As they nodded, the chakra form flickered out.

Kisame sighed, "might as well." he murmured to himself, before turning towards the pinkette. "Lets go pinky… got nothing better to do."

Sakura's temper flared at the nickname, however she stayed quiet… she could guess that the next few hours were going to be hell, and opening her big mouth will only make matters worse.

Itachi turned to the older kunoichi, "come." He said plainly, walking out with his partner next to him. The girls looked at one another and rapidly chased after the strange pair.

When the kunoichis left the room, Sasori turned and grabbed his partner by his hair and dragged him out of the room.

"What the hell, Sasori-danna…? That hurts!" the younger shinobi protested.

"Come along Brat, will work on your taijutsu and chakra control today."

"But…" Deidara started to complain.

"Shut it, Brat! Or would you prefer to start on genjutsu?" asked Sasori, though already knowing the answer.

Deidara predictably became quiet and the artists headed out.

Hidan chuckled, "that bitch is so predictable! So Kakuzu, what should we fucking do?"

"Nothing now, Hidan, I still have to figure out how we will raise Akatsuki's funds."

"You fucking miser!" mumbled the Jashinist.

**-o-o-o-**

Outside, Kisame and Itachi stared at the kunoichi… to their displeasure, Kisame was looking at them evilly.

"Itachi… will you be joining them?" asked the Kiri-nin absently.

"Hn… not today Kisame-san, I plan on testing their genjutsu after you're finish." The Uchiha said bored, leaning against a near tree.

"Suit yourself, however tomorrow… you won't be able to weasel yourself out of it."

Itachi smirked, "neither will you Kisame… your genjutsu is lacking."

The shark-man huffed in indignation, "not my freaking fault… I'm not a genjutsu type like Dei and you."

His partner didn't respond and the fish-face turned to the frightened/shocked kunoichis.

"You two will be running laps and if either Itachi-san or I feel a flicker of chakra… you will be volunteering you chakra as Samehada's dinner."

The girls nodded, 'sounds simple enough…'

"Oh and one more thing, you will be chased by my clones and if they catch you… game over."

'… or not…'

"How many laps?" Temari dared ask.

Kisame snickered, "until my clones run out of chakra."

'… they're in hell now!'

With an evil grin, Kisame performed a seal and two exact replicas appeared next to him… within a signal second they darted towards the pinkette and blonde.

**-o-2½ hours later-o-**

Sakura was barely staying out of the shark's hands and to her frustration the bastard didn't appear to be breaking a sweat.

Itachi glanced at his partner, "aren't you over doing it Kisame?"

The shark-nin snickered, "hardly kid… those clones only poses 10% of my chakra."

"Perhaps, but haven't you felt that our power has increased since the resurrection jutsu."

Kisame looked thoughtful for a second, "now that you mention it kid, hai, however I can sense the change coming from Dei, Sasori, Kakuzu, Konan, Nagato and you."

Itachi scrutinized his ring, "hai… though the power feels familiar."

Kisame grunted in agreement.

Neither of the two shinobi were surprise when Sakura was the first to be caught… cursing out her irritation at the wind.

"Awe, isn't this a surprise," Kisame said sarcastically.

"Shut it, fish-face!"

Kisame snorted, "whatever… now your punishment… Itachi."

"Might as well," onyx eyes turned red and glanced at the now frightened kunoichi. "You have to fight it and free yourself."

Before she could protest, Itachi's sharingan started to spin and pulled her into his mind. She fell into it without any resistance.

**-o-Genjutsu-o-**

Sasuke stood before her, "what are you doing with my Aniki?"

"Sasuke-kun, no I..."

"Whatever Sakura, the leader of that organization made a mistake choosing you. You are nothing, but a weak little girl that has never been any use to anybody… it seems that the Hokage has finally figured that out." The Uchiha said coldly.

Sakura's eyes snapped as did her temper.

"You don't know anything about me Sasuke… I have grown stronger throughout all these years that you have been gone. The Akatsuki chose me over you!"

Sasuke growled in frustration and anger.

"Your own brother doesn't even believe your good enough to fight one of the Akatsuki's members." She continued, confidence seeping into her voice.

To her shook, the image of Sasuke vanished and Itachi stood where he had been.

* * *

**Well there you go… chapter 11 over and out. The training has begun and the Five Great Nations are starting to understand what it really means to work along side the Akatsuki. **

**So the next chapter will most likely be up once I finish with my improvised vacations and I do hope my computer doesn't keeping annoying me when that times comes. So until then and reviews are highly welcomed. **


	12. Rookie Pt5

**Wow, two months ago… a few days after my last post on the first week of November Naruto released its final chapter and I got to say I was sad. I really didn't care for the final pairings and those who are being idiots and protesting about NaruHina (I mean I was never a fan of SasuSaku and I am not letting this determine my liking of the manga as of general), really just get over your selves; but really after 14 years of living with this characters, almost all of my life… it saddens me to know that it is over. That I will not be waiting for the Manga chapter to come out or anticipating what will come next. They have reached their peaceful ending and as a honest fan I will keep watching the anime to its last episode. **

**So it is New Years now and 2014 has come to an end and I wish you all a happy New Years!**

* * *

Searching for a door,

that I can sneak out through.

For I can search for a life,

out of this darkness

that I call my misery.

* * *

_**Sasuke growled in frustration and anger.**_

_**"Your own brother doesn't even believe your good enough to fight one of the Akatsuki's members." She continued, confidence seeping into her voice.**_

_**To her shook, the image of Sasuke vanished and Itachi stood where he had been.**_

* * *

"W-what?!"

"You did not follow my instructions and your emotional control leaves much to be desire and until you learn control… you won't be able to advance in genjutsu."

Sakura gapped at the Uchiha heir and her anger began to boil. Nobody has ever told her what to do or no to do when its come to her training. She was going to make her shishou proud and learn from this legendary genjutsu master.

"Why…? I can do this!"

Itachi didn't even flinch at her tone and stood in front of her unaffected.

"Perhaps… you are a genjutsu type, but to succeed in this type of chakra manipulation… to make a person believe in the illusion, you must first be able to control your mind perfectly and understand how ones mental landscape works."

He gave her a cold look, "your neglected control would make any genjutsu you cast unstable and unreliable."

His explanation calmed her down, barely, though it didn't make her any less angry.

"Blunt as always Itachi… the blonde over there has finally reached her limit. Do you want a go at her?"

The Uchiha shook his head, "no Kisame… it is clear that she isn't a genjutsu type. It would be a waste of my time, in a few days we will focus on her taijutsu."

Temari slumped in relief and gave Sakura a pitying look, genjutsu was difficult to learn and with a teacher like Itachi and her stubbornness, isn't the best combination.

Itachi turn and gave the pinkette one last annoyed look.

"Until I say otherwise, everyday after you finish with Kisame… you are to meditate and gain control over your mind and emotions."

The pinkette gulped down her pride and nodded. She had tried to meditate once before with Neji… it didn't end well. She had gotten bored pretty quickly and started fidgeting, which soon enough got on Neji's nerves. As politely as he could, he asked her to leave.

The girls began to make their way through the training ground… they heard the clashing of metal and loud shouting. Ignoring their sore muscles as best as they could, they staggered to a large clearing… a few meters away from the base.

Deidara and Sasori were sparring… neither of them was using a drop of chakra.

"Your balance is slightly off, Danna, hmm." Remarked the blonde as he pushed the shorter male back.

To prove his point, Sasori stumbled and glared at the smirking idiot. He hated to admit it, but he was rustier then he had imagined. His weight change and not controlling his body through chakra threads… was off balancing.

The puppeteer grunted, he relaxed his stance… sensing their audience. Deidara noticed the change in his partner and frowned, stupid girls had to show up and ruin his fun. It isn't often that he got the chance to correct his stoic partner.

"Come out, yeah, we know you are there!"

The kunoichis stiffened, but stepped out of the shadows.

"Do you want something?" asked Sasori coldly, not enjoying the fact that they had been spying on them. All of Akatsuki knew that the girls were going to report everything they learned here.

Nagato had told them to not worry, but Deidara and him didn't even wish to risk it. For obvious reasons, the two had a lot of trouble trusting people and the villages that the kunoichis originated from wasn't helping their mindset.

Sakura looked at Sasori directly in the eyes without flinching and responded, "we just heard the noise and were curious."

The bomber snorted at the petty excuse, 'what happened to the fierce and temperamental kunoichi that had insulted Kisame in his face and wasn't afraid to argue with Nagato-san?' he wondered.

"Let's go Danna, I believe we are going to have to ask that Uchiha bastard for help, yeah."

Sasori turned to the blonde and grunted, the two of them made their way towards the base… efficiently ignoring the exasperated kunoichis.

Temari grumbled and turned to the younger girl.

"Come on Sakura, we're not learning anything and if we can't figure out what is going on here… coming would have been for nothing."

The medic nodded reluctantly, "you are right Temari. However, every time I look at them… all I feel is fear, anger, frustration, confusion and perhaps a bit of curiosity."

The Suna kunoichi gave her questioning look.

"I mean… don't you wonder… what could have driven all of them to leave their villages." She quickly added.

Temari cocked her head to the side, "… not really, I mean I've always just thought of them as crazy bastards that never really needed a reason for the things they do."

Sakura sighed, "huh… I use to think the same way until I learnt the truth about the Uchiha massacre."

"Hai, that is something… have you learned anything more about it?"

Sakura closed her eyes, yes finding out the complete truth and realizing how deep it went, had really shaken her trust in the village.

'I mean if they were capable of eliminating one of the village's strongest clan just because they presented a threat…. What does that make me… what did that make all of us?' she thought back to team seven's first mission outside of Konoha. Zabuza and Haku had said something about shinobi every only being tools. 'How naïve was I not to see the truth behind what they were saying… however I still don't plan to leave my friends behind.'

"I do Temari, but I can't say…"

The blonde frowned, but dropped the subject. She understands the need and obligation in keeping ones nation's secrets safe.

"Let's go Temari… I'm hungry and I refuse to hid anymore."

**-o-o-o-**

Their unwanted guests walked into the kitchen… to their amusement they walked in with their heads held high and projected an air of being at complete ease with their surroundings.

Hidan snickered, "well, well, well… look who's fucking decided to come out and play."

The girls ignored them and the pinkette started rummaging through the cabinets and fridge. 'There is nothing here…'

"Is there anything to eat here?" she asked voicing her frustration.

"No fucking way… however Deidara-chan was just talking here about going to the village for a bite."

At the mention of his name the blonde looked up.

"Yeah, but the miser here doesn't agree, hmm."

Sasori walked into the kitchen… angry at the needs that a human body demanded to survive.

"You two are fools or did you forget where we are?"

"What…?" the blonde began to inquire at his partner.

Sasori not in a patient mood… and answered his idiotic question.

"We are in Amegakure, Brat… Nagato's village."

Deidara's eye dilated in understanding, but chuckled at why Sasori was in such a fool mode.

"You sure are cranky… when you're hungry, hmm?"

"Shut up, Deidara!"

"Yeah, whatever… Hidan you still hungry or will you prefer to stay with your miser of a partner, un?"

"Hell fucking no… I will die of starvation here!"

The Jashinist stood up and gather his things.

The explosive expert turned his attention to the kunoichi, he had not forgotten those two.

"What about you two? Do you wish to come with us or stay here and scavenge something to eat, hmm?"

Temari glanced at Sakura and saw her small nod.

"Good," Sasori said, his hunger making his temper even shorter then normal. "Then go and get your cloaks that are in your closet." His eyes hardened at their defiant expressions. "Do not argue… if you don't put those cloaks on, you won't be allowed into the village."

The girls frowned, but left to get their things. They were hungry and anyway… they were curious to see how the Akatsuki's home village fared. Sakura had already seen villages plagued by mobsters and evil shinobi. They never were in good shape.

"I will inform Itachi and Kisame, the fish should already be bugging Itachi for something to eat." The puppeteer stated, walking out of the room.

"Ah, Sasori-danna, we don't have to bring that bastard along, yeah!" complained the bomber.

"Grow-up Brat… meet us at the base's entrance in ten."

The trip from the base to Amegakure was uneventful and to the kunoichis' exhaustion the other members had set a grueling pace. After that torture session they called training… the two were almost dead on their feet.

They walked through the busy streets, not really believing how at peace Ame's people seemed to be. Yet, there was something that had surprise them more… when the Akatsuki entered the restaurant, the hostess rushed towards them and bowed.

"Akatsuki-samas! It is a privilege and honor to serve you."

Itachi took point, being the most polite out of the group.

"Thank you… we wish for a table for seven."

The hostess nodded and led them to the back of the restaurant.

"Here you go… I will be serving you." She gave the two you girls a curious look as they took their seats against the wall. She did not recognize them and everybody in Ame knows the shinobi that work for Kami-sama.

"Akatsuki-sama, will Kami-sama and Tenshi-sama be joining you?" she wondered, since nowadays it wasn't uncommon to see all of the organization together walking through the village.

The redhead shook his head as he picked up the menu, "It is unlikely… but this meal will be charge to Akatsuki's private accounts."

"Of course, Sasori-sama, I'll be back in a couple of minutes to take your order." She turned and walked away, Sakura and Temari could not stop staring at her.

Deidara chuckled as he looked at the menu.

"Kakuzu is going to be piss, yeah!"

"Serves the fucker right, his cheap ass is really annoying!"

Sakura couldn't take it anymore, "what the heck was that about?!"

The Akatsuki however the more emotional ones looked up from their menus.

"What are you screaming about?" mumbled Kisame as he search for his favorite food.

"That whole 'Akatsuki-sama… Kami-sama… Tenshi-sama' what have you done to these people?!" elaborated Temari.

If Sakura were to guess, some of the members looked slightly annoyed at their accusation.

As if they had summoned her, the hostess appeared and cheerfully asked for their orders.

None of them answered and to her amazement Itachi-sama turned towards her and looked at her calmly.

"What is your name?"

"Mi- Miruko… Itachi-sama," the hostess responded nervously.

"Miruko-san, would you mind telling these two girls what Akatsuki is to Ame's people?" asked Itachi politely.

"Hai, Itachi-sama…" she looked at the kunoichi with open worship. "Akatsuki came to Amegakure when I was still just a little girl. The citizens of this village… we used to live in fear of Hanzō, but it wasn't always like that. My oka-san used to tell me that Hanzō at first believed in peace and for Amegakure to no longer be the battlefield for the three Great Nations. Though, as the years passed Hanzō started to become paranoid and changed into a tyrant. There was no peace in our village… only fear and slowly the village began to fall apart."

Her eyes hardened and the sadness vanished from her face.

"I will always remember when I first saw Kami-sama, enter the village as deadly shadows. We all heard the commotion from the center tower, Hanzō's shinobi swiftly retreated. Weeks later, Tenshi-sama approached the village's people and bluntly told us what happened. Ever since that day the village hasn't been attacked again and at last… is prospering. Our shinobi are always out on missions now… the five Great Nations no longer bother us."

She laughed humorlessly, "you can imagine our anger, when Suna and Konoha's shinobi knocked over our village's gate… as though we had even asked them for assistance. Those villages have only ever brought destruction to our country, yet they have never been punished. They cannot see that Akatsuki has given us peace and we really don't care what they've done to the great nations… just as the great nations have never cared about us…."

Itachi held up his hand and silenced the young girl, "that will be all Miruko-san. I'll call you when we are ready."

"As you wish Itachi-sama, Akatsuki-samas," she bowed and walked away.

Sakura and Temari stared at her back in shock. They would have never thought of it like that. No matter… the Akatsuki could see that the two girls were going to be stubborn.

"What right…" Temari started to growl.

"Oh, shut up, hmm!" the blonde male interrupted hearing the denial in her voice. "Itachi- teme call the girl over… I'm hungry and don't wish to hear this petty argument."

"I agree with Deidara-chan, this fucking conversation can be held later." Hidan added.

**-o-o-o-**

Dinner passed without an ounce of conversation, the two kunoichi's barely touched their food. As they made their way back to the base, they couldn't meet anybody's eyes.

Deidara and Sasori had gone on ahead, claiming that leader wished to meet. How they had received the order neither Sakura nor Temari could guess.

The girls did not stick around to talk, immediately making a beeline to their share room.

"Do you really think that having that hostess talk to them… was a good idea?" Kisame asked absently.

"To avoid anymore conflicts within the group, these girls will have to see the truth behind the villages." His partner replied stoically.

Kisame gave him a curt nod, "do you really think that is best?"

Itachi sat down and closed his eyes, 'do I want to break the girls so much that they will leave their villages?... no, but we need the power.'

"The two will not fall and leave, I can already see that Haruno-san will become one of us. She feels pity for what the village 'made' me do and deep down blames them for Sasuke leaving when they were younger… though there is more to her…"

"What of the Suna kunoichi?"

"Her loyalty to her brothers runs too deep and if my guess is correct about what Nagato's plan are… than she will not be able to stay. She'll fight us and stand for her village's beliefs, before anything else."

"So why are we training her…?"

"To keep up appearances, the villages can't find out what we're planning to do?"

Kisame laughed dryly.

"Is what we're planning that bad?"

Itachi smirked, "no… just controversial."

The Kiri-nin chuckled, imagining how the girls will act in such a situation.

"Come Kisame, lets spar…" the Uchiha said, closing the subject.

"Ah kid, come on! We just ate…" the shark started to complain.

Itachi continued to walk, not paying him any mind. Kisame sighed and cursed the younger male.

"Fine… but I'm not going easy on you, kid."

"I expect no less, Kisame." Itachi murmured as he turned around to face his opponent.

"Damn arrogant brat!" growled Kisame as he brought forth his sword.

* * *

**So there you have it, I know a lot of you were glad that I put Temari with the Akatsuki, but lets be honest no matter what the organization is planning she would never condone it. Itachi and perhaps a few of the others will come to note this too. **

**Well, at the end of a year comes the end of an Arc, the titles comes from Flow's Rookie. Here are a few of the translated lyrics that inspired these last five chapters: **

**Suddenly, I pursue the answer, **

**there aren't any repeated words**

**I try to be cool for some reason; **

**and when I do that, **

**I frantically throw around lies**

**Every random day is painted, **

**and then repainted and destroyed; **

**all alone, I'm just lifeless...**

**The next Arc I'll try to update it before I start University in the mid of January. The war is getting on our way and now that I know the canonical end, I am trying to determine what will change and what will remain. I wonder if any of you have been able to figure out who our dear Sakura will be paired up with…. Hehehe.**

**Review and I promise that your voice will be heard. Every review gives me spirit to continue with the adventurous tale!**


	13. Nostalgia Pt1

**The new arc is here, it is pretty short compare to the last one… though now we'll be seeing Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi come face to face with a slightly different Sakura. **

**:D not saying a word more…**

**I know this will sound like an excuse, but during these last few months I've started the U and honestly with midterms and works... I have barely anytime to even breath. I mean I am updating this while in History and Theory of Cinema. I know their are many of you that want me to update What Comes Next and I swear I will, I have just been working on this one a little more often then my others one.  
**

**Also I know I promised you lot a crossover between Bleach and Naruto, and it will still come I'm working on the rough draft of the story's outline and I must warn you that if I were to even start publishing, updates will be far apart and rare events... however the chapter will be around 8000 words each.**

**Well enjoy!**

* * *

_A door has been opened,  
I've seen the truth for myself.  
I do not know who's side I am on,  
yet I know I must follow my heart._

* * *

**_"Come Kisame, lets spar…" the Uchiha said, closing the subject._**

**_"Ah kid, come on! We just ate…" the shark started to complain._**

**_Itachi continued to walk, not paying him any mind. Kisame sighed and cursed the younger male._**

**_"Fine… but I'm not going easy on you, kid."_**

**_"I expect no less, Kisame." Itachi murmured as he turned around to face his opponent._**

**_"Damn arrogant brat!" growled Kisame as he brought forth his sword._**

* * *

Days became weeks and before Sakura and Temari know it a month had passed since they had last seen their friends and families.

Naruto was staring defiantly at the Godaime Hokage, "but Oba-san I refuse to go on anymore missions without seeing Sakura-chan first. Especially if it's all the way in Kumo!"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she shifted her gaze towards the other members of team Kakashi. "What do you… think of this?"

Kakashi sweat dropped and glared daggers at the knuckleheaded blonde.

"Well Godaime-sama, it would bring us all some type of comfort to know how Sakura-chan is doing." Kakashi said as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Also… perhaps we could also figure out what the Akatsuki has been doing, how they came back from the dead, and what they plan to do once the war is over." Kaka-san added.

All focused turned to the Uchiha, he could care less about what happens to his pink hair ex-teammate… however his brother is an Akatsuki and Sasuke still wants to know why his Aniki didn't want him by his side. Why does he wish to stay with a bunch of lunatics that can't understand him? Whatever, if the dobe were to convince the Hokage to let team Kakashi go… then he by default will be force to go. That was one of the terms of his punishment… he at all times has to be watched by one of the members of team Kakashi…. It's annoying, to say the least.

"Hn…"

Naruto smirked and spoke before Tsunade could hit his arrogant teammate.

"You see Oba-san, even teme agrees… please let us head to Ame first and after I promise to head to Kumo." His eyes widened, begging her to let him go.

Tsunade sighed in defeat and slumped on her chair, 'what I wouldn't do for some sake, now!'

"Fine go… though I don't want to hear another word about this. No matter what is going on there, Sasuke and Naruto you are to head towards Kumo."

"Yes, Oba-san- Tsunade!" the blonde bowed and sprinted out of the office.

Sasuke sighed and followed his suppose best friend.

"Kakashi make sure those two don't do anything stupid and come back here once you finish. Gai and Aoba will be waiting for them at the docks."

"Hai Godaime-sama!"

"Oh… Kakashi, Sabaku no Kankuro has been bugging the Kazekage on going to Ame to check on his sister. He is in the village now and will be going with you."

"Hai…!"

**-o-o-o-**

The four shinobi traveled at a steady pace, Kankuro couldn't believe his luck. He was going to see his sister… his eyes drifted to the hyperactive blonde. How he did it… he would never understand nor did he want to.

"Stay on your toes, we'll be entering Ame's territory soon enough," Kakashi called ahead.

"Ah don't worry… they won't attack us, Sakura and Temari are with them. They won't let them hurt us." Naruto grinned, "plus we're allies…"

"Be as that may, we do not have permission to be here and will be attack if spotted."

As they thought over what Kakashi said, they ran into the middle of a power shower. Sasuke stopped and stared at the sky.

"Hey teme, is everything ok…?" Naruto asked mockingly.

"Dobe… there is something in this rain, don't you feel it Kakashi?"

The Uchiha gave the young Uchiha a hard stare, but uncovered his eye.

"You are correct Sasuke, do you know what it is?"

Sasuke scoffed, "I did not come to this village during my time with Akatsuki nor did I ever meet the rinnegan wielder."

"That's unfortunate… but from what I see, this rain seems to be laced with chakra."

Kankuro looked at the clouds in shock, the amount of chakra required for such a jutsu… was mind blowing.

"Well this is an interesting surprise!" a deep, laughing voice said sarcastically behind them. They all jumped at the sudden intrusion… Kisame chuckled at their peeved expressions.

"Leader informed us immediately once you crossed the boarder… to say that he isn't pleased would be putting it lightly." He turned and started to walk to the opposite direction from the village. The four shinobi stared at him, lost. "Are you coming… I can imagine that you are here to see your friends.

"Yes… but aren't …" Naruto started to say nervously.

"For obvious reasons, we don't train near the village… the others should be around."

They followed him, Naruto hating the silence. "Sooo… I didn't hear that you were at the summit."

"I wasn't… it would have been dangerous and compromised my mission."

"So you have not died…"

Kakashi and Kankuro looked intently at the blue skin swordsman.

"No I have not… and before you ask, I do not know the jutsu that brought the others back. That is something for shinobi such as Itachi and Sasori to figure out."

Sasuke grinded his teeth at the mention of his brother's name, "where is Itachi, shark?!" demanded the young Uchiha.

Kisame tsked, "manners, manners…" he chided and smirked at how easy it was to get under this Uchiha's skin. "Though, if you really want to know… he is off gathering supplies, somewhere. He should be back later…"

When they approached the base, the four trespassers tensed at the sudden earthquake.

"Relax will ya… that's just Deidara-chan, however I wonder who his poor victim is this time around." Kisame chuckled at their faces.

'Poor Sakura-chan, she has been living with these maniacs… and if they've done anything to her….'

They came up to the hidden building at the forests edge, "go look for your friends. I have things to do." He said and turned to go back into the forest, but before he was out of sight he turned and gave them on final warning. "Don't try to go into any lock rooms… what you might find, may be your untimely death."

Before they entered the base another set of earthquakes almost knocked them off their feet.

"I vote we see who is fighting the blonde lunatic," stated Kankuro, hoping it wasn't his sister.

"But we have to find Sakura-chan!" whined Naruto.

"Hai Naruto-kun," agreed Kakashi, "but do you know where she is?" he added before the knucklehead could argue further.

"No, but…" he groaned and slumped in defeat. "fine… lead the way Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi nodded and walked down a random corridor, luckily for them they soon started to hear a loud obnoxious, arrogant voice.

"You've gotten better at dodging and your stamina has improved, hmm. However, as Sasori-danna has mentioned for the pass two weeks… you still can't focus on two things at once, yeah."

"Again," a tired voice huffed.

"You are just too stubborn, yeah, but as you wish…"

Naruto and Kankuro's ears perked at hearing the conversation and rushed forward. What they saw nearly made their eyes pop out of their skulls.

The bomber known as Deidara was aiming high-grade explosives directly at Konoha's pink hair kunoichi. To Kakashi's pride, she was expertly dodging the deadly blasts… though to all their interest it was obvious that she wasn't able to complete the objective of the exercise. Every time that Sakura stopped and tried to complete the puzzle… a blast would almost hit her.

It was on the third time that the blast nearly knocked her out that Naruto interfered.

"Hey watch it… what are you trying to do… kill her!" he yelled, as he grabbed her before she hit the stone-wall.

Deidara's smile dropped and he descended closer to the unwanted visitors.

"Hn, who let you four in, hmm?"

"Naruto let me go!" growled Sakura in irritation.

"Uh… sure Sakura-chan… but are you ok?" her blonde best friend asked sheepishly.

"I'm fine you baka… I've done this before."

"Sakura-chan, he could have killed you!" he defended himself.

The pinkette's eyes narrowed, 'why does he always think I'm so weak? For the passed 4 weeks I've been showing these guys what I'm capable of… that I can stand on equal ground with them.'

Her attention shifted to the Iwa-nin… who had lost his easygoing attitude. "Sakura, it is of no use… Sasori and I will have to inform Nagato-san and Konan that you'll have to join the bastard's team."

"Ah come on Dei, you can't be that cruel?!" whined Sakura.

"You remember the deal Sakura-chan, you can barely complete half the puzzle when facing me and can hardly touch the pieces when against Sasori-danna…"

Sakura grunted and adverted her eyes, "hai, well you try to complete a damn puzzle while fighting your sadistic partner."

To her annoyance, the blonde's blank face changed into a smug smirk. "I have… back when I first joined Akatsuki and Danna could perform the hundred puppet technique. It took me two weeks to complete that damn puzzle." Deidara gloated.

He jumped from the bird and gave her pitying look, "sorry cherry-chan… but your with the bastard and fish-sticks… your fighting style just isn't compatible with ours."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, realizing who the blonde was insulting.

"Don't speak of aniki like that," the young Uchiha growled.

"Yeah whatever, cherry-chan you have visitors and I have things to do… so I'll see you later."

Sakura crossed her arms and gave the artists a mocking glare. "You mean… you have to go train with Itachi-san."

Deidara's smirk vanished and puffed out of the room without another word.

Sasuke's eye twitched… all his childhood all he ever wanted was to be trained by Itachi and now that worthless blonde…

Sakura turned to her friends and gave them a small smile, "so what are you 3 doing here?" she asked cheerfully.

Kakashi step forward and gave her what looked like a bright smile. "Well Sakura-chan, your loveable teammates here were worry about you and we came to see if you were alright."

She nodded, "as you can see… I am fine. Oh and Kankuro your sister is down the hall to your right. She's had a rough few weeks."

The Suna shinobi made his way towards his sister… something was off with Sakura and he could only hope that his sister was still the same.

Naruto ran over to her and draped his arm over her shoulders.

"So what was that about ne Sakura-chan… what's wrong with teme's brother?" he asked carefully.

Sakura was aware that she had all of Sasuke's attention… and glared at him.

"Nothing really," she answered shrugging off Naruto's arm. "He's just one hell of a bastard and I was determined not to be on the same team as him. Just training with him is stressful, but I admit he does know what he is doing."

Sasuke grunted and turned to look at the wall. "So do you know where he is?"

The pinkette shock her head, "nope and if he is training with Deidara… I do not want to go searching for him."

An awkward silence took over the previous members of team 7 and Kakashi cleared his throat in an attempt to break it.

"So Sakura-chan… how is living with the Akatsuki?"

"All right, I guess." She replied with a small shrug. "Though, their definition of training is hell and I've barely gotten to really speak to them."

"So when are you returning home, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked eagerly.

The girl grimace… both Sasuke and Kakashi noticed that she didn't look at any of them in the eyes.

"Soon Naruto…"

He heard the lie in her voice, but smiled nonetheless.

"So want to show us around?" Kakashi asked.

"Sure," she faked smile. "but what is he doing here?" she added pointing at Sasuke. This passed month with the Akatsuki had taught her how to bury her emotions, yet the pain in her heart… at seeing the young Uchiha was still ever present.

"I came here to see my aniki," he answered dryly.

Sakura scoffed, "yeeaahh, though he isn't around and whatever you came to tell him… he won't care."

Sasuke frowned, "how would you know…?"

"I might not know much about the shinobi in this organization, Sasuke, but I've been able to see that in some ways they understand each other here and don't judge anybody for what they've done."

Sasuke's face closed up and she could tell that he was going to be stubborn.

She sighed, "fine talk to him, but he isn't going back to Konohagakure and because of your history with Madara and Deidara they won't allow you to become Akatsuki."

Sakura turned around and began to leave her teammates behind.

**-o-o-o-**

Kankuro found his sister's room quite easily and to his displeasure the legendary puppeteer was just closing the door behind him.

"What were you doing in my sister's room?"

Sasori looked up calmly and walked passed the erratic teen.

"I'm talking to you!" demanded Kankuro.

"Your sister is in there and when you leave I suggest that you take her with you… she doesn't belong here," he said and disappeared.

Kankuro rushed into Temari's room.

"Temari are you ok?"

"I'm fine Kankuro-baka, just a mild concussion…" a tire voice answered him.

"Oh, and why was Sasori-san here?" he asked, his protective brother side taking over.

"He was checking my head," she explained brushing it off. "After the first week they prohibited Sakura from healing me and gave us separate rooms. Leader said that we have to become stronger through our injuries."

"That's a bunch of bull…"

Temari nodded, "I know… neither Sakura nor I felt like arguing though."

The purple face painted ninja looked at her suspiciously. "You aren't telling me everything, Temari."

"I'm not…"

"You know that you can trust me, imōto (sis)."

Temari sighed, "hai I know… but first answer me this; what did Sasori-san tell you?"

"To take you with me… and that you don't belong here."

"That is true and that's all the confirmation I need."

"About what…?"

"They are plotting something Kankuro, and I bet you that it has something to do with why they all came back."

"W-what.?!"

"Whatever it is… the villages will not likely agree to it." The sand blonde added.

"What about Sakura?" asked Kankuro remembering how at ease she had seem to be with the mad bomber.

Temari eyes drifted somewhere far away in thought, "hai, there is that…."

"What do you mean?"

She laughed once without any humor. "I might not belong here, but Sakura has started to form bonds with some of the members."

"Huh, that's not what she said… that she's been too busy training…."

Temari snorted and her eyes darken, "then she lied. Sakura when we started to train, began to grow distant… at first I thought it was because she missed her friends in Konoha, but as the days passed by I started to grow suspicious…."

* * *

**There is the first part of the arc and I hope you will enjoy it, I promise to try and update as soon as humanly possible.  
**

**So leave a review and tell me what you lot think, it is what keeps me going with all these fics.**


	14. Nostalgia Pt2

**Hello to you all, so here is another chapter and the drama is finally getting started... well it won't be so heavy this isn't a drama nor a romance no matter what. I can't believe I made my goal of updating this before April ended... what a miracle, I actually thought i wasn't going to make it. Yeah I am aware that it is the last week of the month, but hey it counts XP.  
**

**Anyway to happier news and I am sure I won't be shouting up about this for a while, my favorite band (and if you don't know it is Muse) will be coming to my home country! Yeppie! **

**Now with that out of the way, here is the chapter and i hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

I'm a witness to something awful,

something I wish to be untrue.

I desire for it to be false,

I plea for it just to stop;

but deep down I know that this nightmare,

has only just begun.

* * *

_**She laughed once without any humor. "I might not belong here, but Sakura has started to form bonds with some of the members."**_

"_**Huh, that's not what she said… that she's been too busy training…."**_

_**Temari snorted and her eyes darken, "then she lied. Sakura when we started to train, began to grow distant… at first I thought it was because she missed her friends in Konoha, but as the days passed by I started to grow suspicious…."**_

* * *

**-A few days after the dinner in Amegakure-**

_Sakura told Temari that she was going to train with the blonde-baka and fish-face. Temari looked at the kunoichi carefully, 'this is weird… normally we are both called out together and go through those torture sessions together.' _

_The Suna kunoichi followed the pinkette and made sure not to be seen. She knew that something was going on with her._

_Sakura walked through the base at leisure pace and smiled. Today was going to be a good day… Itachi was away doing kami knows what and lately the shark __h__ad started __to become__ more at ease with her__ being__ around. _

"_Hey pinky, what took you so long?"_

_Sakura looked up at the blue skin nin, "nothing… I just saw no reason to rush."_

_Kisame chuckled, "so you're finally starting to get it, huh?"_

"_Don't tell the blonde-baka, but he was right… if I'm always worrying about everything then how can I live my life joyfully?"_

"_You can't," another voiced piped in mak__ing__ the pinkette jump. "only way to enjoy our time here in this miserable world is living one day at a time and not clinging to our useless pass, yeah."_

"_You're quite the philosopher Deidara-chan, though why don't you follow your own advice?"_

"_Un, that's what I've been trying to do since we came here. I'm even training with the bastard in genjutsu and I have yet to blow him up."_

"_Don't falter yourself Blondie, you can't beat Itachi even if he were half dead and blind." Sakura commented, "though I didn't know you were a genjutsu type."_

_The blonder chuckled, "not something I like to brag about, yeah. However even before my death I could resist genjutsus, even sharingan genjutsus. That Uchiha-gaki of a teammate you had wasn't able to trap me, hmm."_

_Sakura's eyes widened, that was quite the accomplishment… and to be able to resist any-type of genjutsu could be really useful._

"_Anyway I can get you to tell me how you did it?" she asked with big wide pleading eyes._

"_Sorry Hime (Princess), but we don't have the time for you to learn the technique and I doubt you are prepared to more or less sacrifice one of your eyes."_

"_Is that why…?"_

"_No, the scope is just useful… though that eye is much more sensitive to light and what not…"_

"_And that is why you cover it." The pinkette finished for him._

"_Hai," he confirmed leaning back._

_Kisame chuckled, those two fought half the time yet got along better then anyone would have imagined. _

"_How is Sasori __doing?" the shark asked trying to keep the conversation going._

_The blonde shrugged, "frustrated half the time. He was never really strong but his taijutsu was above average, it causes him trouble to find his balance… even his speed has suffered. He really hates being human."_

_Sakura was speechless, what __a __selfish, stupid, __asshole __th__at __puppeteer is. "What an ungrateful bastard, there are people who would kill to be a perfectly healthy human… and what does he do, he wallows."_

_Deidara smirked and looked over the pinkette. _

"_Hime…" he started to warn her, but she just kept on ranting._

"_I mean if you think about it, he should just forget about the whole puppet thing and focus on what to do now that he has th__is second __chance. I mean technically speaking how old would he be on looks alone…"_

"_I doubt that is any of your business," a stoic voice answered from behind her. Dread began to seep into her bones and she cursed her luck. "Deidara, let's go."_

_The blonde nodded and snickered at the pinkette's doomed expression. _

"_Don't worry Sakura-hime, I'm sure Sasori-danna won't even think of getting angry at you." He reassured her evilly as he followed the puppet master out the room._

"_I'm dooooomed…" moaned Sakura as she hit her forehead on the table._

"_There, there pinky I'm sure it will be quick." Kisame teased as he patted her on the back._

"_Thanks fish-face," she smirked dryly._

"_Well let's get going pinky, perhaps improving your stamina will give you a fighting chance." _

_Sakura chuckled and went with the fish outside. Temari couldn't believe how comfortable Sakura was with the members… they teased her, comfort__ed __her and were willing giving her information. However, the pinkette never said anything to he__r__ and made it seem that she was as miserable as Temari was. _

**-o-o-o-**

"I wanted to give her the benefit of a doubt, but when they separated us and gave us our own rooms… she didn't look at all surprise. It was as though it had been partially her idea." Temari finished looking slightly angry.

"Imōto, what you're saying is really serious… I mean have you asked her to tell you things from her side. Perhaps maybe she's playing them to believe that she is one of them." He suggested hopefully.

Her eyes hardened and the anger radiating from her was mindboggling.

"Kankuro-baka, if it was just a feeling I wouldn't even have brought it up… I have confronted her about this and it was her response that finally made me realize that I couldn't count on her."

"What happened…?" Kankuro asked not really wanting to here the answer.

**-A few days earlier-**

"_Hey, Sakura-san, how have you've been lately?" the blonde kunoichi asked._

"_Nothing much, training with Itachi-__teme __is hell and the damn asshole at last has me doing something other then meditating." Sakura nearly cried to the heavens in joy._

_Temari nodded, "really what is he teaching you now?" she asked innocently._

_Sakura tried to hide her small mysterious smile. "Speed and a little of taijutsu… it really is intense. You… Deidara-chan told me… have been training with the demon puppeteer, what's that like?"_

_The blonde grimace, "it's __torture__… taijutsu, speed and stamina training… fighting ten puppets at a time and if one lands a hit on me I have to suffer for an hour or two with that damn poison in my blood."_

"_So have you learned anything," Sakura asked suddenly._

"_Not really, just that those rings connect them to one another… I heard Hidan complaining to Kakuzu about it being against his religion to wear it." She said disappointed._

"_You…?"_

_Sakura shrugged, "not much… they __share __a weird relationship the people here and…"_

_Temari eyes narrowed and she snarled, "stop shitting me Sakura. I know you know more then that. I saw you the other day with Deidara, Sasori and Kisame. You know more about their abilities then you are admitting… I will even say that you have some clue as to what they are planning."_

"_That may be… but Temari… what they've told me is nothing and really the villages should stop acting so high and mighty. In-retrospect if it weren't for them the Akatsuki wouldn't even exist… they exile the monster they themselves created." _

_Temari stared at the girl in shook, "Sakura you can't be serious… Konoha is your home as Suna is mine and these ninjas have time and time again threatened them." _

_Sakura chuckled humorlessly, "I perhaps wouldn't have minded so much if the village had been honest with me since the start. I mean what is the point of becoming strong… if the village that you swore to protect __will __eliminate you once you aren't of __any __use to them. That's what would have happened to Sasori if he hadn't left Sunagakure when he did. Your council would have killed him the second the war finished… forget the promise to be the Yodaime Kazekage, it was your farther that convinced the council that Sasori__was an unstable individual." Sakura finished her tirade and turned to look out the window. Something about the rain was calming. _

_Temari stared at the girl in anger, shock and confusion. "H-how do you know all this?"_

"_The library here is massive and it contains the secret scrolls from every village here. Itachi's ANBU scrolls are here, so are Deidara-chan's as an explosion corps captain__ and __Sasori's elimination order__s__…" explained Sakura._

"_How can you be sure that any of them are true?!" demanded Temari._

"_Itachi's __scroll __down to __the smallest__detail__is the same __of that __which is __stored in Konoha." Sakura countered. _

"_Why would they have such things here?!" Temari exclaimed wishing to understand. How could Sakura be turning her back on her home._

"_That I do not know… but if I were to guess… it is to remember what has made them what they are today. It is also their way to show that between them, there are no secrets and if any member is curious they can just go and get the information themselves." _

_She exhaled, "Temari I know that they aren't exactly noble people, but we are ninjas and that is part of the job description… and there's also the freedom I feel here. You don't have to hide what you are or what you've done."_

"_Yes but they killed hundreds of people, have gone after my otōto…" the blonde tried to argue._

"_Temari… your own village tried to kill your brother many times after your father hurt him, emotionally and mentally… we have all killed Temari and it was under the pretext that it was to protect our home. But the villages took advantage of the bloodlust, insanity and coldness that is part of who they are, yet when the very aspects that made them useful weren't to their liking or reminded the village people what they truly are… they __would have got__t__en __rid of them." _

_Temari didn't get her chance to say anything and almost as though he had been waiting in the shadows… Itachi walked towards them, ending their conversation._

"_Sakura-san, you are late."_

_Sakura bowed and turned to the imposing Uchiha. _

"_Forgive me, Itachi-san… but we were discussing the conflicts that arise when perceptions differ."_

_Itachi smirked at her when she said his name, "ah… a delicate subject. Can ruin the deepest of friendship if there isn't understanding."_

"_I agree, Itachi-san," Sakura replied looking up and giving him a sly smirk. _

"_I'll wait for you outside, today we'll work on genjutsu reversal… Temari-san." He said as he left the room._

_Once he left, the Suna kunoichi pounced. "What the hell was that about. Sakura?"_

_Sakura froze. "Nothing… we've just come to an understand__ing __that's all." She said softly and began to leave. "Temari, I'm not going to argue with you anymore, but know that I've decided not to make the lives of these shinobi anymore miserable."_

"_So what, are you going to do… help them now? Really become one of them?" demanded Temari._

"_I don't know… but I won't out right betray them. Honestly, I think I will wait and see… and decide when the time comes." She responded sincerely._

"_That's a dangerous path Sakura… I just hope that we won't ever be found fighting on opposite sides." Temari said gravely, letting the girl go. 'Forgive me my friends… but it is her choice and I'm not going to force her otherwise. Naruto I hope that you will be able to get through to the Sakura we all know.'_

**-o-o-o-**

"Damn, Temari, that isn't good." Kankuro said it was the first thing that passed through his mind afterwards.

Temari dropped her head. "I know… we can only wait now and see what is to come. However, we have to warn the villages that Akatsuki isn't to be trusted with anything of value. I am being thrown out and Sakura has clearly said that she won't be a spy."

"The Hokage won't be please with this and the other villages might brand her a traitor at the end of the war." He said matter-of-factly.

"She knows all this… and somehow has come to accept it." She said ending the conversation. Kankuro not knowing what to do, started to pick his sister's stuff up… though the news was grim, he just couldn't help but be happy that his sister was leaving this place.

"Imōto, rest… the journey back to Kumo is long." He said softly staring at the bump on her head.

**-o-o-o-**

"So Naruto, that is the Akatsuki base." Sakura said sitting in the kitchen.

Naruto frowned, "ah… come one Sakura-chan… all those doors. What is in those rooms?"

The pinkette shrugged, really she had only shown them the most basic aspects of the base. Orochimaru's old lab would have terrified Naruto, and the library contained too much sensitive information that she knew that Nagato-san wouldn't be too happy about if they saw the enormous collection of scrolls.

"Sakura-chan," he whined one more time though decided to change the topic. "Hey Sakura-chan, do you know where Pein-san is?"

Kakashi almost face-palmed, "Naruto-kun, he most likely is in Kumo with the rest of the villages leaders."

"No, Kakashi-sensei, he is not." Sakura countered, "he came back a few days ago." She snickered, "from what he told us… it seems the Kages wish to keep the Akatsuki in the back line. He was not pleased at all and as well as the rest of the members."

Kakashi's eye turned analytically, "he should not be sharing such info. What the Alliance leaders discuss is top secret."

Laughter echoed through the kitchen, "seems you have not learned copy-nin." Kisame said as a greeting. "One of the main reasons that we stick around here is that we at all times know what is happening. We are all aware of the status of the war and really the Kages are being thick headed, limiting us in such a way."

"So… where is he?" Naruto asked, he really wanted to talk to him… maybe he could tell him what they were planning or just maybe he could talk to him about Jiraiya-sensei.

Kisame chuckled, "well I can tell you they aren't in Amegakure… but it won't be wise to go looking for them. Might be the last thing you do."

Naruto looked at the shark confused, the sly smirk he was showing made him feel like a bigger idiot for not understanding. Kakashi decided to protect the blonde idiot's innocence, even if it was only a very thin shard that barely existed.

"Where are the others?" the copy-nin asked desperately trying to change the subject.

Sakura and Kisame shrugged. "No clue… some training, others doing what they love, and others being complete idiots somewhere."

"Oh, pinky… I heard that you'll be joining the kid and me." Kisame stated getting to business and not carrying that they had an audience.

"Unfortunately so…" she said grumpily.

"Don't worry if your medical skills are needed you will be with the artist duo. Their long-range attacks will keep the enemy away."

"Not going to happen fishy, I can take care of my self."

"That maybe true, but what if you need to conserve your chakra… and I'm not around?" he asked calmly. It had been wise for him to have this conversation with her… Deidara would seem like a jackass for underestimating her… Sasori like a sore loser and Hidan and Kakuzu wouldn't really care.

She glared at him, damn fish did have a brain when he wanted to… it really pissed her off. However it was a relief to know that she wasn't going to be completely stuck with the emotionless bastard.

Kakashi cocked his head, "if the Kages allow it… what will the Akatsuki be doing?"

Kisame tilted his head, "we will separate and assist the 5 main divisions. As well as keep an eye out for the previous jinchūriki."

Kakashi gave him a questioning look.

"It was Zetsu's duty to get rid of their bodies once the bijū was removed… the in house geniuses think that some how Madara kept their DNA and gave it to Kabuto for the reincarnation."

"That will be a problem," the gray hair ninja murmured. "Is there anything else that you can tell us about the enemy?"

The shark-nin shrugged, "if you wish for more info on the back stabbing bastard… you will have to ask Itachi."

Something sparked in Sasuke at the mention of Itachi. "Why do we have to ask him?" he asked carefully trying his hardest to keep his temper in check.

Sakura looked at Kisame curiously, this was something she had not heard about… though it was Itachi that they were talking about, and he was a man with a lot of secrets.

Kisame sighed, "Itachi was his student."

They all stared at him dumbstruck, this was something that none of them could have guessed.

"When…?" somebody finally asked.

* * *

**There you have, all you crazy people... I can honestly say that this was one hell of an intense chapter to write. The whole Sakura switching over, is so much more complex to write then I would have ever imagined. I don't want it to be simple and cliche, there has to be a deeper meaning behind it all and that is what I wish to portray. **

**Well tell me what you think, I really do enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions. And I hope to see you all bery soon! Caio. **


	15. Nostalgia Pt3

**Well here it is the last chapter of this calm and tranquil arc. The next will feature the travels of each pair and the conclusion of their missions in Kumogakure. But before that their is going to be a small conclusion in the kunoichis' training and yeah i had to get Temari out of there, however there was a reason why she was in Akatsuki and her continuing story will make it all clear. Though that will be in the next Arc... hehehe.**

**Now while I usually take this time to thank all that have reviewed, I am actually hurt that no one did in the last chapter... so I have no idea if you are enjoying this or not. While I did have a few people of Followed and Favorited, and I will like to thank those that have. You reminded me that though no one reviewed I still have loyal readers waiting for an update.**

**So here is it...**

* * *

Going our own ways,  
only to meet up in the end.  
Life will come into a full circle,  
and then our destinies  
will become clear.

* * *

_**Kisame sighed, "Itachi was his student."**_

_**They all stared at him dumbstruck, this was something that none of them could have guessed.**_

_**"When…?" somebody finally asked.**_

* * *

"I met him when I was 10," a stoic voice answered, making them all jump.

"Hey kid, where's Dei?" Kisame asked trying to lighten the mood.

"With Sasori," he said matter-of-factly and walked over to the fridge and got something to drink.

Kakashi easily did the math… "so when you became a chūnin."

Itachi looked at him, it wasn't a question and it was about time that Konoha knew that he had been working with Akatsuki years before the massacre.

Naruto didn't understand; it didn't fit with everything he knew about the older Uchiha. "But you were still loyal to Konoha at that time… why would he teach you anything?"

"Naruto-kun, I was an unofficial member of this organization since the age of 11," he said matter-of-factly.

"The same time that you joined ANBU…" mumbled Kakashi.

"I became part of ANBU before Madara informed me of Akatsuki." He smirked and looked down at Sasuke. "It was a couple months after taking my first official mission for the organization that Orochimaru decided to come after me."

This stunned the younger shinobi even more. They had faced Orochimaru when they had been 12 and they knew that they were alive only because the snake allowed it. Naruto had been told by his sensei that Orochimaru was believed to have left Akatsuki because of Itachi.

"You fought and defeated the snake pedophile at the age of 11?!" asked the blonde incredulously.

"Hn…"

Naruto chuckled, "wow Sasuke you were an idiot to go to that snake for power. Your brother beat him even before he left Konohagakure."

Sasuke growled and glared at his supposedly best friend.

Kisame laughed and Sakura snickered at the Uchiha's hidden embarrassment.

"The baka has a point!" Kisame exclaimed.

"Itachi-san… I noticed at Gokage no kawa that you are not experiencing any of the side effects from using the Mangekyō." Kakashi stated tired with tiptoeing around these people.

Itachi stared intently at the copy-nin, what unsettled him most was that he himself wasn't sure why his eyes hadn't bothered him after using the Tsukuyomi... and on five people no less. He wonders if it had anything to do with that power spike that Kisame had mentioned.

Kakashi frowned and turned to look at the sharingan heir. It would seem that Itachi wasn't going to answer him and before he could say more on the matter… one loud mouth artist and his silent partner came into the kitchen.

"What's this yeah, has Nagato-san called a meeting?" the blonde asked. All eyes were on him.

"Brat! Think it through… anyway I believe Nagato-san is busy at the moment." Kisame replied rolling his eyes.

"Lucky bastard, yeah…" murmured Deidara.

Sasori smacked him on the back of his head, "don't even think about it… gaki. He would have your head before you even finish thinking it."

Deidara humped but turned to look at the younger Uchiha. "Well if it isn't the younger bastard… I'm surprised you're not screaming your head off and demanding your brother to go back with you to that detestable village."

"…."

"Deidara that's enough," Itachi said.

"Whatever, yeah, just saying what everybody else is thinking, hmm." He retorted.

There was moment of silence and as though they had summoned them Nagato and Konan entered the tense/awkward room.

"This is a pleasant surprise," he greeted though they could all hear the sarcasm in his words.

"Nagato!" Naruto exclaimed. "How are you…?"

Nagato inclines his head, 'I wonder if I should inform him that we are from the same clan…? Doesn't matter,' he turned and looked at Kakashi. 'The copy-nin came here for a reason and it would be best to just get to the point.'

"I'm fine Naruto, but now isn't the time… I'm sure Hatake came here to discuss other matters." He adverted their attention to the silver hair ninja… who looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Kaka-sensei…?" Naruto murmured in surprise.

"Gomen Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan… but Godaime-sama wanted me to ask you how was it that you were all able to defeat 7 of the 9 bijū?" answered the copy-nin.

The Akatsuki members looked at one another… Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were not even trying to hide their curiosity… Sasuke had fought the Hachibi and if it weren't for team Taka he wouldn't have made it out of that mess alive.

Nagato shrugged, really to be even considered Akatsuki they had to at least show the potential to go head to head against a bijū. The only one that had faced a bijū without a jinchūriki had been Deidara.

"Deidara…?" Nagato indicated.

"What yeah, the Sanbi or Ichibi?" he asked as if it were no big deal.

Kakashi looked at the bomber and hoped that Naruto wasn't going to blow a casket.

"Both… if you don't mind."

Deidara shrugged and sat next to fish-sticks, "the Ichibi was knowing what every Kages' weakness is… it also came down to understanding his ultimate defense and like the bastard loves to point out every jutsu has a weakness."

Naruto tilted his head and with suppressed rage at the reminder what that lunatic had done to one of his friends growled. "What was that?"

"That it can be used against him… once he incased himself I was able to hide my clay within his sand and hit him point blank," Deidara chuckled humorlessly. "At the end losing my arm was worth it…."

Sakura nodded, but ignored the fact that he was talking about Gaara. "Dei and the Sanbi… Konoha, Kumo and even Suna have been attacked by bijū and the villages have a hard time sealing them."

Naruto grunted, "Hai, plus we couldn't even contain it."

Deidara laughed and Kisame knew that the idiot was going to mock them over this.

"How many were you… 11 jōnin and chūnin… to be honest that is embarrassing. What were you trying to do pinky…?"

"Shut it Blondie, you try fighting a bijū while at the same time fighting some of Orochimaru's underlings." Sakura defended resisting the urge to stick out her tongue.

"Humph, well there was your first mistake… I'm going to guess that the beast was still conscious…" Deidara said matter-of-factly… mockingly. "That was your fatale mistake, isn't it obvious that trying to seal the bijū is better when they can't fight back?"

Kisame chuckled, he remembered when he caught the Yonbi, and it was hard not to kill the old man. It's easier to just kill them off.

"Yeah, well what about Orochimaru's people?" asked Sakura moodily.

Deidara shrugged, "get rid of them first… just like I did those ANBU." He said the last part as if it were no big deal. "That damn idiot was of no help of course, made me do all the work."

Konan narrowed her eyes, she really couldn't tolerate his arrogant attitude sometimes.

"Deidara, don't get smug… your jutsu just gives you a greater advantage." She chided in annoyance.

"Aah Konan-san that's mean," murmured Deidara put down, though it really didn't make Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura feel any better.

Nagato sighed, "it just takes to know the jinchūriki's weakness or just have the strength to over power it." He said putting an end to the discussion.

"Nagato-san…Temari has agreed and will be leaving with her ani (brother)-san later today." Sasori informed.

"What..?!" Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura exclaimed.

"Arigato Sasori," the redhead leader turned to the surprised shinobi. "I informed the Kages that if their shinobi did not meet to our standards that they will have to leave the organization. Temari is an exceptional fūton user… though that is not enough to remain within Akatsuki. She does not have the mental capabilities or chakra control for our more advance jutsus."

Naruto tilted his head with curiosity… the talk of new, unknown, powerful jutsus was always a weak point with him. "Like what type of jutsus…?"

The Akatsuki looked at the boy with disbelief, he couldn't be so dumb to believe that they would spill their secrets just like that.

Nagato shrugged, "Gentōchin no jutsu (Magic Lantern Jutsu) for example."

The Konoha knucklehead frown in confusion, "the what?"

Kisame grunted… how could this baka ever cause them problems he would never know.

"The Astral Projection jutsu… you baka!" explained Deidara.

"The what…?" the blonde asked again, still at a lost.

Now even Sasuke was getting annoyed with the blonde's thick headedness. "The jutsu they used to communicate with the Kages at the summit." The young Uchiha elaborated with simple words.

"Oooh, you mean the chakra form jutsu!" screamed Naruto in realization.

Deidara resisted the urge to hit himself with the table. It was just so embarrassing to admit that he almost lost to him.

Konan shared a look with her partner, '_are we really putting our faith in this kid?_' she asked incredulous.

Nagato gave her a stiff shake of his head. '_That remains to be seen… but I can understand your doubts._'

"Sasori, you and Deidara go get ready… you have a mission… the Daimyō of Ongaku no kuni (Music country) desire's assistance in dealing with Yume no kuni (Dreams country)."

"Why us, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"The Daimyō feels that with your passed experience there… that the mission will go smoother." Nagato explained. "Do you accept the mission?"

The artists shared a look and both gave an understanding look to one another.

"Hai, Nagato-san…" said Sasori. "When will we be leaving."

"As soon as possible, don't come back here we are to meet in Kumogakure for the start of the war and final battle arrangements."

"Hai," the artists said and left the room.

Sakura slumped, great now that left her with fish sticks and the bastard… perhaps Nagato would let her…

"Sakura, Itachi and Kisame, you are to head to Chigakure (Hidden Blood Village) they wish to discuss a treaty with us and see if we can help with the disposal of shinobi from the former Hanagakure (Hidden Flower Village)." The rinnegan wielder informed.

Itachi tilted his head, "are they not allied with Iwagakure?"

"Hai," Konan answered. "The Tsuchikage has refused their request in stating that he doesn't have the resources because of the war… so they turned to us."

Kisame chuckled, "Kakuzu-zonbi (zombie) should be please with all the requests that are coming in."

Sakura snickered remembering how the old miser had been complaining the past weeks.

"Sakura during this mission you will continue your training… Kisame and Itachi will teach you our fundamental jutsus." Nagato noticed the flicker of the copy-nin's eye. 'I wonder how long it will take them to realize that more is needed then just knowing the seals?'

"Hatake, Uchiha and Naruto you'll need to be outside of this country before night fall… don't think of going into Amegakure or you will be attacked." The rinnegan wielder warned as he left the room.

'_Konan prepare Ame's shinobi to head out to war._'

'_Hai, Nagato… what will you be doing…?_' she asked innocently.

'_I'll be heading to Kumo, however before I wish to understand the jutsu and this new found power…_' he frowned and went to the base's door.

'_What have you found out?_'

He sighed, '_somehow we are all connected to the bijū power… more then ever before._'

'_You wish to find out if we can harness that power to our advantage._'

It wasn't a question by he sent his affirmation through the link. The villages really weren't going to like this… but to some off the members of Akatsuki this will prove to be an advantage. He only has to figure out if the healing properties of the bijū chakra could be use.

**-o-o-o-**

Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke looked at Sakura… Itachi and Kisame had already left to get things ready.

"They should be helping with the war Sakura-chan," Kakashi stated to his student.

"Yea well what do you want me to do about it, Kaka-sensei… Konan is preparing the shinobi here and from what we've been told Nagato-san is about ready to kill the Kages for their ongoing never-ending bickering. Anyway… I must get going, if I am late I won't hear the end of it from sharkie…. Sayōnara, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-teme."

With that Sakura disappeared leaving a small whirlwind of Sakura petals.

Soon after Temari and Kankuro came into the kitchen… Naruto flinched at the bruised state that the Suna kunoichi was in. Sasuke barely looked at her.

"What happened to you?" asked Kakashi not really wanting to know.

"A sadistic puppeteer," she replied dryly.

"W-what..?!" asked Naruto.

"Taijutsu training and worse part is… I couldn't use chakra." She mumbled irritated.

"Ouch," murmured Naruto in agreement adverting his eyes.

Kakashi tilted his head, "Temari-san...?"

"Hai, Kakashi-san… though this isn't the place… and it isn't all pretty." She murmured the last part, you never knew who was listening when it came to these people.

The group was silent for a few minutes… none of them sure of what this all meant. Sasuke couldn't believe that he wasn't able to talk to his brother and the idiotic blonde bomber had even noticed that he hadn't tried all that much. Could it be that… no it wasn't that… but perhaps…

Sasuke didn't notice his blonde best friend turn to him with a satisfied grin… "Hey bastard, did you notice how Sakura-chan called you teme?! She at last has seen the light!" Naruto said happily though inside he was worried, it wasn't like their pinkette friend to act in such a way… especially towards Sasuke.

"You heard them and Naruto-kun, Sasuke… Gai and Aoba must be waiting for you at the harbor of Kumogakure… we will send for you when the war starts. Naruto-kun you know what you'll be expected to do during your time there."

Naruto grinned forgetting about his worried for a moment as well as where he was. "Hai sensei, I must learn to control the Kyūbi."

All the shinobi surround him, sweat dropped and looked at him with utter disbelief… and he was supposed to be the hero?!

**-o-o-o-**

Nagato sighed as he felt the Konoha and Suna shinobi leave the base… his chakra rain was still activated and would remain that way during the war. The villages weren't to be trusted in the least, and it wouldn't be below them to attack his villages while it was completely defenseless.

"Nagato… Deidara and Sasori are prepared to leave, as well as Itachi and Kisame." Konan informed.

The rinnegan wielder nodded, "good… tell them that I await their arrival in Kumogakure as soon as possible. Hidan and Kakuzu should be already returning from Shizen no kuni (Nature Country), the assassination was reported a success."

"Nagato the villages will hear that we are still conducting missions… they will not be please." She said matter-of-factly, wanting to know how he was going to handle that confrontation.

"It is best for our members to be occupied… the Hokage already knows this, anyway all these countries asked for help from the bigger nations… they were refused because of the war. Plus, its better for our members to be the last to arrive at Kumogakure… less likelihood for any conflict to arise, knowledge of us being alive and having a treaty with them isn't common. The Daimyōs don't even know that we will be participating in this war… they think that we are all dead."

Konan inclined her head and broke into thousands of pieces of paper, all them swiftly folding into perfect butterflies.

"I will see you in Kumogakure," he said as a farewell.

**-o-o-o-**

"Pinky you realize that your Suna friend will tell them everything?" Kisame asked as they came to the door.

Sakura inclined her head, "hai…" though she smirked. "However Temari doesn't know everything."

Kisame looked at the girl, "will you be trying to get on Itachi's nerves during our travels?" he asked, worried that someone was going to get killed and hoped dearly that it wasn't going to be him.

She huffed in indignation. "I don't do it on purpose… he's just to easy to annoy."

Kisame shook his head, "no hime… it is just something about you. Not even Deidara-chan can ruffle his feathers like you."

"In smaller words… I'm so annoying that I can even affect the almighty Uchiha?" she asked sarcastically.

The shark shrugged, "if you want to say it like that… hai."

Sakura frown, hoping that he would contradict her.

"Your late..." a stoic voice broke them out of their comfortable silence.

"Gomen, kid… but pinky here is a girl after all." The blue ninja excused.

Sakura snorted, "ah… I wonder what Konan would do to you if she heard."

Kisame paled, "Don't you dare tell her pinky!"

She chuckled, "then don't make dumb comments like that."

Itachi sighed… this wasn't going to be a tolerable two weeks.

"Enough of your bickering and lets go." He ordered without showing his annoyance.

The two quieted and followed the brooding Uchiha. They both understood that it was better to not push their luck… if they didn't want to die.

"Um… Itachi-san, how long is the journey to Chigakure?" she asked just trying to make a comfortable atmosphere.

Itachi didn't answer her at first and looked straight ahead… she sighed… he is just impossible. Why she even tried… that is something that she would never understand.

"Five days to Oasis Lake… after, two days till we reach Chigakure," he said absently.

"Pinky how is your stamina?" asked Kisame.

"Fine…?" she answered uncertainly.

"Feel like going three days without a break?"

"That's really unhealthy," she retorted automatically.

"Pinky…" the shark drawled in a bored voice

She exhaled and gave him a dirty look, "do I have a choice?"

The blue skin ninja chuckled, "not really."

Her eyes hardened. "Then why do you ask?"

He shrugged and speed up to where Itachi was. Well, whatever… but their was no way that she was going to walk behind them and picked up her pace.

* * *

**Hahaha well not a cliff hanger exactly though now how will the missions go and what does Temari have to tell the Kages and the rest of Team Kakashi. Hehe well you'll have to wait to find out. However I do promise you all that the next Arc will be long and though I it will take a while, because I already had a part of it written but because of internet issues it wasn't saved on my Googledrive. **

**The song that inspired this Arc and it's translated lyrics: Nostalgia by Megumi Nakajima  
**

**Taking a detour and fooling around, like an adventure going home **

**To express what you want to say, you played tricks and got rough**

**In the end, the moment you cried, I felt a prickling in my heart**

**Now please Review, I love to hear your thoughts!**

**Au Revoir, for now. **


	16. Wind Pt1

**Hehehe here is a new Arc and it will be the longest one to date. So yeah, originally I wasn't planning on updating today, though when I realized that this story today was turning one year... I just had to post a chapter. Thank you all to have followed me and been with this story since the start and I can't wait for the upcoming year and what will happen next with this tale. **

**Information for this Arc, there will various stories going on at the same time. Each pair and their respected mission... as well as Nagato's quest for answers. The parts are separated by titles at each line break. The few that will be seen in this chapter are:**

**The Bastard, The Flower and the Shark- Itachi, Sakura and Kisame**

**The Artist Duo- Sasori and Deidara **

**Kami- Nagato/Pein**

**Thank you all that have reviewed, followed and favorited this story and I hope you all enjoy the next upcoming Arc.**

* * *

Our journeys begin,  
our paths have been chosen.  
We've diverted from our destiny,  
but secrets have been discovered.  
Time for regret is none existent.  
Our only choice…  
is to continue forward.

* * *

**_"Feel like going three days without a break?"_**

**_"That's really unhealthy," she retorted automatically._**

**_"Pinky…" the shark drawled in a bored voice_**

**_She exhaled and gave him a dirty look, "do I have a choice?"_**

**_The blue skin ninja chuckled, "not really."_**

**_Her eyes hardened. "Then why do you ask?"_**

**_He shrugged and speed up to where Itachi was. Well, whatever… but their was no way that she was going to walk behind them and picked up her pace._**

* * *

**-o-The Bastard, The Flower and The Shark-o-**

They sprinted through the forest that resided in Sunagakure. It had been 3 days since they had left Amegakure and Sakura was on her last breath… really the bastard was a slave driver. How they were still going was a medical mystery to her.

"Hey pinky, are you ok?" asked Kisame tauntingly.

"I'm peachy… you moron." She growled the insult at the tailless tailed beast.

He snickered, "hey kid… how much longer, I doubt pinky will last an hour more?"

Itachi turned to look at the kunoichi, Kisame had a point and if it had been only the two of them they would have kept on going till they reached the lake.

"Your stamina training seems to not have been of much help." He stated stoic.

She glared at the Uchiha, "well it has only been one month… however before I would have barely lasted two days so give me some credit." She snapped back, since starting this journey she had slowly gotten over her fear of the Uchiha. He was an overpowering presence, but like anybody else he can die and was human… to some extent.

"We'll reach Suna no hantō (Sand Peninsula) in a couple of hours… we will rest there for the night." He informed not in the mood to get in an argument with the fiery girl.

Sakura quieted after that and wondered how the artist duo was faring. Kisame had told her that where they were going would only take them four days on foot and if Sasori let Deidara have his way they would arrive in two. Damn blonde idiot and his conventional form of traveling. She smirked and remembered when she had asked him about his creations… it was a let down to know that she would never be able to do it.

**\- Three weeks after starting training -**

_Deidara flew over the base, doing pointless circles in the sky. He was enjoying the damn day… it wasn't often that Nagato or natural weather would let them have a rainless day. _

"_Hey Deidara-chan! Come down!" a girl__'s __voice broke him from his easy musings._

_He lowered his bird and looked down at the girl, "what is it cherry-chan? Can't let me enjoy one day?" his blue eyes looked around them. "Though I would have guessed that it __was going to be __Sasori-danna that would have called me down."_

_She looked at the bird with intrigue, "how do you make them?"_

_Deidara gave her a cautious look… he wasn't sure if he should answer her. Yes this last week he had been more open with the girl, but she was still loyal to her village and who knows__; __if she were to change her mind __and __go and spill all their secrets._

_Sakura waited for his answer, not even hundred percent sure that he would give her one. This was about his ultimate jutsu… what makes him who he is. _

_Deidara exhaled and came to a decision. "My chakra… I was born with a rare kekkei genkai called Bakuton (Explosion Release); it's a very notorious kekkei genkai in Iwagakure. After the third shinobi war the ability almost went extinct… when I was five I almost blew my house up. I was an orphan… my parents died just before the countries called a ceasefire. After that incident I was enrolled into the Academy… I hated it, but unfortunately it ended being that I had a knack for it. I was labeled a prodigy within a year and as you can imagine the Tsuchikage took an interest in me and made me his student._

"_Things didn't get any better… I went to school then went to train with the old geezer, but I always found time to work on my art. It was the one thing that I was good at when I was younger… kept me sane in the orphanage." He smirked lost in thought as he subconsciously landed his bird and sat comfortably on it. "I graduated from the Academy at the age of eight and immediately was rafted into the Explosion Corps… I learned how to master my kekkei genkai, unfortunately people who have the Bakuton get antsy when our chakra accumulates… the longer you don't use the kekkei genkai the more the urge to blow something up increases. I unfortunately have a abnormally large reserve, so for me to stay quiet and wait doesn't really work I need to keep moving… it was also this reserve that made the possibility for me to preform the Kinjutsu._

"_When I was promoted to Captain… I was given access to Iwagakure's secrets archives. That's where I found the scroll... it fascinated me… for years I had been looking for a way to actually combine my sculptures with my explosions. I knew that that would accomplish my true art and there it was._

"_I was lucky to have survive the jutsu… I latter learned that it was because of my large chakra reserves. Of course, this was after I left the village… my fighting style change radically, I stopped working on my taijutsu and some years after I acquired this scope for my eye." He finished and focused back on her. He hadn't meant to tell her his life story, but he had just gotten so lost in his memories._

"_Sooo…?"_

_He inclined his head and smirked. "Sorry cherry-chan, but it's something about my chakra that makes it all possible… only another person with the kekkei genkai and large chakra reserve could survive the Kinjutsu, hmm."_

"_Then the losing your heart… wasn't part of the plan?" she asked now medically curious._

"_Hell no, when I woke up to find that fucking mouth on my chest… I almost had a panic attack, hmm. Anyway I didn't learn about not having a heart until after Sasori-danna pierced me right through the chest." He chuckled, "first and perhaps only time I've ever seen him speechless, yeah." _

"_It's a miracle that your chakra alone can keep you alive… I mean, technically speaking one does need chakra to live, but to not have the human heart to give it life…. It's jut unthinkable." She murmured almost to herself though Deidara heard her question._

"_Not really if you think about it… it gives life to my creations. Who's to say that in a larger quantity and that the object has a working mind it can't maintain the being alive." He saw the look that flashed through her face. "Don't even think about it, cherry-chan… I'm not going to be your lab rat, yeah!"_

_Her face closed up and started to argue. "Ah, come on… I mean thing of all the lives that you could help save, keep shinobi alive while they waited for a medical-nin to arrive." _

_Deidara's eyes hardened and he started to command his bird to move. "No, cherry-chan!" he ended the subject and took off, leaving a livid kunoichi. When he had returned later that day… he had been ordered to clean up the training ground. It was a danger hazard._

**-o-o-o-**

"Hey, hime… are you there?!" a loud voice broke through her mind.

She looked up in surprise, "what?!"

"Sorry to interrupt, but we are getting close and we wouldn't want you to go running into the water." Kisame joked.

They jumped out of the forest and came to a stop at the water's edge.

"Kisame-san go search for something to eat," he ordered. The shark grunted and leap off… he knew what the Uchiha was about to do and it wasn't going to be pleasant. Some how and for some reason those two always ended up in a verbal fight.

"Sakura-san, come," he ordered.

She grinded her teeth in irritation, 'stupid Uchiha and his expectation for me to follow whatever he says.'

"What?" she growled.

He sat neared the peninsula's edge, "sit." He said simply.

She sat down fuming at his attitude. "Ok, so what now!"

"Watch carefully, I will only repeat this twice and before I teach you anything else, you have to have it memorized perfectly." He informed her looking at the water.

She nodded, coming to the conclusion that it wasn't the time to argue. This had to be one of the jutsus that Nagato was talking about. She watched as he went through a series of seals that ended with ram. Sakura blinked and turned to look at him in the eyes… to her annoyance noticed that they were black. It was weird to see him without the sharingan activated.

"Hmm, could you do that again and perhaps at half the speed?" she asked at a lost.

He sighed and repeated the seals, when she nodded at the end he dropped his hands. "When you've perfected this send out an ounce of your chakra with a part of your consciousness, once you feel your mind split it is when you will know that you've done it correctly. Of course, you are still missing a key piece and won't get it, until you've gotten this part down."

"What?!" she exclaimed outraged that she wasn't getting everything she needed.

"The jutsu will work just fine… you just wont be able to make a physical manifestation of your chakra or direct it." He elaborated as he began to meditate.

She growled, but started to practice the seals without building up her chakra.

**-o-Artist Duo-o-**

Deidara and Sasori walked into Dansugakure (Hidden Dance Village), the blonde was avoiding to look at anything or make eye contact with anyone. He loved his kasa (traditional bamboo hat) at the moment… though it had been years since he set foot in the village… he still didn't like to think about what happened.

"All right gaki spit it out," Sasori growled as he watched the free going people.

He grimace as he thought back to his adventurous year, "well Danna… it was during that time between leaving my village and joining Akatsuki that I was hired by the Daimyō of this country."

"I've deduce that already gaki(brat)," he growled though it wasn't as menacing as it used to be.

"Um," he scratched his head in embarrassment. "On my last day here I was caught with the Daimyō's daughter… though it wasn't as bad as the Daimyō made it sound, yeah." He defended as his partner sent him a disbelieving look. "I was 14…." He said as an explanation.

"If you left this village in such bad terms… why did he ask for us specifically?" wondered the redhead.

"I don't know… yet it's been 6 years… she would be 19 now. I think, yeah." He mumbled mostly to himself.

They came to the Daimyō's home at the Hidden Village, Deidara cleared his throat as he knocked on the door.

"Stay quiet gaki, let me do all the talking… understood." Sasori commanded.

"Yeah," he whispered slightly nervous. It wasn't often that his past came back to haunt him.

They were quickly escorted to the dining room, much to Sasori's chagrin. The longer this took… the more unnecessary time would be wasted.

The servant knocked on the door and was followed with excited screaming and a hushing sound.

"Come in," a commanding voice came through.

The servant opened the door and held it for the two shinobi. Once Deidara and Sasori were in, he rushed back out and locked the door. The Akatsuki tensed… this was going to be good.

"Sit," he pointed and looked them over. "Please takes those hats off, they aren't necessary here."

Deidara sent a look at the puppeteer, Sasori grunted and he removed his kasa. "We aren't obligated to follow your orders, Daimyō-sama."

The Daimyō inclined his head, "be as that may… it would be best if we kept this civil."

Sasori gave him a cold stare. "Daimyō, we might have agreed to come, but just like the great nations we are preparing for war… we do not have time to lose."

The Daimyō sighed and sent a weary look at the close door…

"As you wish," he said and a moment later a teenage girl jump into the room.

"Papa! No you promised that you had requested for Deidara-kun," a girl with long orange haired shouted staring at the accusingly.

"Daiki (大輝 Great Radiance)," the Daimyō murmured in exasperation. "These are the shinobi of Akatsuki and as…"

"Akasuna no Sasori," supplied the master puppeteer.

He nodded his appreciation, "as Akasuna-sama has informed me there is no time to waste."

Daiki crossed her arms and stared at her father defiantly, "huh and what about him?" she pointed to the hidden member.

"I tried, musume (daughter) and it's your turn to complete your part of the deal." The Daimyō countered with a slight relieved smile.

"Papa, but you don't understand… I can't," she looked down in shame. "I gave the stone to Deidara-kun when he last came."

"That was stupid of you Daiki, you know you can't marry without it." Her father said between clenched teeth and turned to the shinobi.

"Akasuna-sama is there anyway to get Deidara-kun to meet us here. It is of great importance… my musume is to be married to the Purinsu (Prince) of Yume no kuni and without that stone that represents the Ongaku no seishin (Music Spirit), she cannot wed as Hime of Ongaku no kuni and the alliance will be voided." The Daimyō explained.

Sasori looked at his partner discreetly and guessing what the mission was going to be… he knew the perfect way for him to speak up.

"What is the mission that you requested?" he asked hiding his knowing smirk.

The Daimyō sighed, he could understand these ninjas wish to get right to business… and maybe getting Deidara here would be impossible. "Escort… you two are to escort my musume to Yume no kuni."

Sasori counted down in his head…

"What?! You have to be kidding, yeah!" exclaimed the unknown shinobi. Though the Daimyō could guess who it was by the verbal tick.

… 3 seconds flat… the brat is just too predictable.

The orange hair girl jumped and rushed at the covered Akatsuki.

"Deidara-kun!" she yelled as she hugged hm.

Deidara huffed and puffed into smoke. The girl landed uncomfortably on the chair.

"What?!" she cried in confusion.

"Hello Daiki," he said and appeared from behind the shadows. "I don't have that damn rock, yeah." He informed right of the bat.

Daiki looked at him confused, he wasn't the same person she remembered… he was colder and didn't have that carefree attitude around him. However as his words slowly sunk in anger took over.

"You lying bastard, I gave it to you before you left on your mission last time here!"

Deidara snorted, "and I returned it when I came back, hmm."

She looked at him shock and screamed the first thing that came to her mind. "When you broke my heart!"

The blonde stared at her… what was this about now, "Huh?"

The girl glared at him. "Don't play dumb, you baka, you know I had feelings for you yet you left as if it were nothing."

He gave her a look, "yeah… I didn't know that and no offense but even if I did I wouldn't have stuck around."

Daiki looked infuriated, "why? We could have had a good life here!"

He looked at her, this girl had created an image of him that was so far from the truth that it was scary. What he could remember from his time here was playing, attending the festival, blowing part of Yumegakure (Hidden Dream Village) and… leaving a crying girl at the village's exit.

'Ah man…' he cringed and looked at the hunched girl.

"Look Daiki, I left because at that time it wouldn't have been wise for me to stick around and I didn't want to. It just isn't me, yeah, I enjoy to travel… anyway if I wished to lead a country I could have just stuck around in Iwagakure, hmm." He said down at her. "However, Daiki I did return that stone when I left… I would have remembered keeping it."

Daiki looked up at him and went over in her mind everything that she has heard about Deidara and the organization that was represented by those red clouds. Everything she was ever told about them she immediately argued, saying that they couldn't be that bad.

"Oh my…" her eyes reflected her fear.

"You finally get it, un." Deidara stated looking at her face.

Sasori watched the whole scene with rapture interest. It wasn't often that he got to see his partner interact with other people in an intellectual level.

The Daimyō observed the fight… he knows that he should have told his musume something sooner and perhaps she would have gotten over her stupid infatuation earlier. But he just couldn't break her happy bubble, he always tried to keep news about Deidara on the down low. He had to even send her out of the village when Iwagakure came to investigate.

"Daimyō-san we'll be going now and we expect your musume to be ready at the front door in an hour." Sasori said, "we will search for the stone when we reach the front gate… perhaps she dropped it… considering the emotional circumstances."

Deidara snorted at the puppeteer's words... Nagato really did hate him, that or he got kicks from torturing them. Either way their leader had a weird sense of humor.

The Akatsuki puffed out of the room, Deidara barely sparring a second look at the horrified girl. Daiki couldn't believe it, after so many years fantasying about the boy that had made her laugh with his impressive explosions and love for his art… what he really was scared her. Yes her papa had been right in arranging this marriage… this Purinsu was a righteous man and this will atone for the attack of 6 years ago.

She wonders now how many people Deidara killed that day… and if he even regretted it. From what she had seen today, it was obvious that human life didn't have the same meaning to him that it did to her.

Outside two Akatsuki's walked down the market street, making sure to hide their faces.

"Hey Danna, can we go get something to eat, yeah?" the blonde now asked energetically.

Sasori grunted at his partner's totally change in personality, but started to make his way towards the food stands. The bomber grinned and gladly followed the grumpy redhead.

**-o-Kami-o-**

Nagato made his way through Kasai no kuni… the greenery and peacefulness of this country disgusted him. He was heading to Uzu no kuni (Whirlpool country) it used to be the home of one of the oldest most powerful clans of their history. It was also his ancestors' home country.

He was determined to understand the full side effects that that jutsu was going to have on all of them. They were stronger yes… he even started to notice that their wounds would heal faster… even Itachi who had poor health before, now had incredible stamina. It couldn't be accredited to the month of training, no matter who they are no one could improve that fast.

Nagato already knew that some of his members were starting to figure it out and it would be best if he had the answers before the questions were brought up.

The rinnegan wielder sighed, had it really been a good idea to use the bijū's power to bring them back? What consequences will they have to face?

He knows that while the village was outwardly destroyed the underground structure was still intact. It hadn't been by coincidence that Uzumaki Mito knew the most powerful seal in order to lock away the Kyūbi. The Uzumaki clan were descendent from the Sage of the Six Paths, because of this they were rumored to have a secret library with information regarding the bijūs.

He smirked, though it wasn't that well known of a rumor... if it was, he was sure that Konoha would have ransacked it years ago. Perhaps he'll decide to play nice one of these days and tell the villages some of his findings.

Nagato came to the edge of Kasai no kuni... he could just make out the boarder of Uzu.

* * *

**OOOOOOhhhhhh, cliffhanger... please don't hate me! It had to be done, especially if I wanted to update this today. Well since I feel like being generous I will tell you that this is chapter 1 of 7. **

**Hehe hopefully that will tell you what I plan to do. Anyway this will be the last Arc before we get back to the canon plot and the big war. Nonetheless there will be action, drama and all will be important to the over all story that involves the Akatsuki. **

**So please, tell me what you think by either reviewing or PMing. **

**Caio and Ja ne!**


	17. Wind Pt2

**Here is the next chapter and answers will be given, so I don't intend to make this authors note long and while again I didn't even get one review for the last chapter… I will still continue with this story even if it is for my own amusement.**

**Tenshi- Konan**

**Kami- Nagato/Pein**

* * *

The truth is starting to be revealed,

answers to questions unspoken,

facts to mysteries unsolved.

The puzzle is coming together

and the picture is being drawn.

* * *

**-o-Tenshi-o-**

Buru Tenshi no Amegakure watched her people... on the surface they looked like thriving people, but underneath they were people with angry spirits and a thirst for revenge. Their shinobi were preparing for war and the question that kept ringing in her mind was: 'Is this a good idea?!'

Her butterflies had been combing the city keeping an eye on everything that's been happening. The civilians were restless... they could not believe that they were going to fight with the villages, however there were a few that saw the irony from what was going on. The great villages needed there help and if it weren't for their guardians they would be at a huge disadvantage.

Konan smiled inwardly, the faith of their people was condemnable... she and Nagato would do everything in their power for it not to have been misplace. The shinobi were a slightly different story... they are loyal and will follow Akatsuki to the end of the world. However, like the civilians they wish for blood and when they arrive at Kumogakure tension will be high. Nagato had told her that the Kages want for all the shinobi to wear the same headband and as the news spread she could already hear the dislike to such a plan.

They are to start moving out of the city in a couple of hours and will be leaving the country to meet with Kusa's forces. The leaders of Kusa and Ishi have expressed the same concern revolving the relationships between their people and the people they've hated for many years.

She stepped out to the ledge of the building and burst into thousands of small white rectangular sheets of paper... until she steps out of this country she is the messenger for her people.

**-o-Artist Duo-o-**

Deidara and Sasori stood at the village's gate waiting for the Ongaku no hime... Daiki, was taking her sweet time and the puppeteer was barely suppressing his annoyance. There was a reason as to why they never took escort missions... but when Nagato informed the redhead that it involved the past of his hyperactive partner, he couldn't resist. In all honesty it had been worth it, for a small period of time though, the girl was more trouble then he planned out.

Deidara tossed a small colorful stone in the air and caught it distractedly. If the blonde recalled correctly the colors represented the different emotions that could be found in music. He remembers why he enjoyed his time in this small country... music was a form of art and it lasted as long as the artist intended.

It wasn't till twenty-minutes after the hour, that her royal highness decided to grace them with her presence.

"Well it is about time, hmm" the bomber said playfully trying to safe the girl from his partner's anger. He doubted that the 19 years old girl had the ability of dodging one of his poisoned kunai.

Daiki huffed, "sorry... it was short notice. I did need to get some stuff ready for the journey."

At least she didn't bring an unnecessary amount of things. Only a small pack rested on her back...

"Oh, yeah, here is your damn rock." Deidara said simply and threw it at her.

By some miracle she caught it and looked down at it in wonder. "Where...?"

The explosive expert shrugged, "near that tree. The greenery had already grown around it, I can bet you that it has been there for years."

"T-thank you," she stuttered and looked at the stone with hope. Did he...?

"Loose those glassy eyes, Daiki, I am not that boy that you knew half a decade ago. Not even back then would I have stayed, I enjoy what I do way to much." He said making the hope vanish. "Marry the purinsu, stop holding any torch you have for me... it's idiotic, hmm."

Daiki looked down and nodded, 'perhaps the asshole is right and I should stop holding the flame and marry the Purinsu... he is a good man and it will bring our nations together, make us stronger and gives us a better chance to survive the upcoming war.'

"Alright, Deidara-san... I agree... you've just changed so much and I couldn't forget that hyperactive sweet little boy that I fell for... gomen." She said politically and respectively.

Deidara nodded and started walking down the dirt road. Sasori walked with his partner in silent agreement. Daiki with no other choice followed, this was good-bye to her home... she knows that she won't be seeing it for a very long time and now she has to be with a boy she does not know.

**-o-Kami-o-**

He walked through the ruins of a once great village. Uzushiogakure (Hidden Eddy Village) was a dim shadow of what it used to be. His parents had run from this village years before he was born, years before it was destroyed and yet it saddens him to think of all his kinfolks' deaths without an actual reason even existing.

He walked through a crumbled building that used to be the base of the village and at the exact center were the clan's symbol still laid proud, Nagato knelt down and sent his chakra into the unseen seal. He was going by pure instincts and he guessed that one of the reasons nobody could find the library was because they did not have the key to open it.

His chakra steadily filled the spiral form and as it finished the floor started to move, the dust began to clear up and revealed a door.

Nagato smirked and headed into the forgotten library.

It wasn't big, yet not exactly small... he started to look and swiftly put aside the fūinjutsu scrolls. They will be useful in a future date.

It took him nearly an hour till he found the scrolls… they were old and from the amount of dust he could tell that they hadn't been touched far longer then the village had been destroyed. The older scrolls stated how the bijūs had been created and the history of how chakra came to be, as the generations passed the shinobi clans fought it seemed that the Uzumaki clan started to notice the connection between the sharingan and the Kyūbi or Kurama as it was called in the more detailed scrolls.

As the Uchiha clan killed itself off in an attempt to acquire an ultimate power, during one battle against an unknown clan it was seen that the black flames could not burn through demon flames.

'So the bijū's powers can overshadow those of the sharingan… I wonder if they are capable of healing the damage some of the sharingan jutsus cause the user?'

Nagato sighed, only Itachi will be able to see if that is true and he dearly hope so… his eyes were his main weapons without them….

The rinnegan wielder smirked… as he read about the bijūs' history, he was also getting to see the Uchiha's great influence during the times of wars. As the Uzumakis were strong, loyal allies of the Senju… they faced their share of impossible situations. In one or two scrolls he saw the names of the deities Izanagi and Izanami being referred to as feared jutsus.

He sighed as interesting as these all was, it didn't tell him how his members could access the bijū's power and being at such a distance from the Gedo Statue. If Madara wasn't the only one with control and if his members could siphon some of its chakra into themselves… it would improve there chances a great deal.

He had already come to the understanding that it was because of the rings that they could seal the bijūs from a distance. It connected their chakra with the statue as well as with each other. The rings were made of the same metal of the metal rods that he used to pierce throw Pein's body, plus one of the reasons that his link with Konan was stronger then that of the link with his other member, was because of her piercings. In a way, Nagato was going to have to wait and see what Sakura felt when she got her ring and infuses it with her chakra… but knowing Itachi he was going to be stubborn regarding this.

It wasn't till he got to nearly one of the last scrolls that he found a small passage that gave him some hope… near the time of the Sage of the Six Paths, shortly after the separation of the Jūbi (Ten Tails) told that the Sage still felt a connection to their power and if he ever wished to he could have harness that power. However this was speculated because he had been the jinchūriki of the Jūbi. Nonetheless… this gave Nagato hope that what he was planning wasn't so farfetched.

**-o-Tenshi-o-**

Konan ran at the front of Ame's forces, their shinobi were doing an excellent job of keeping a steady pace. No one argued or complained, their supplies traveled at the center of the thousands of shinobi. She had gone and meet with the Kusa's forces and to her surprise Ishi's had already been present… in total nearly 7000 ninjas were making their was towards Kumogakure.

The leaders of the two countries had decided to remain behind and keep a close eye on the civilians as well as protect the countries if the larger nations came to the decision to betray them…. In short they were cowards, they prefer to stay at their sit of power then demonstrate that they deserve that power. It was by luck and to the tenshi's great relief that the three small villages got along just fine and when she arrives at Kumogakure it will be the Kages responsibility to keep the fighting to a minimum.

They would soon be passing Oto no kuni and to be safe they will stay within Kasai no kuni's boarders, though that brought its own problems. As long as they didn't come face to face with anyone and avoided conflicts… they won't have to kill any of their allies. Konan had debated whether or not she should wear her Akatsuki cloak, but she would not be a shame of whom she is and were her true loyalty lays. All the members of Akatsuki had been given the choice to not wear it, but none of them had felt incline to accept the offer… they were who they were, past mistakes including.

It wasn't till their company had made their way to Shūmatsu no Tani (Valley of the End) that they felt foreign chakra, seven different signatures. Konan was certain that she had felt some of them before… perhaps during the attack on Konoha.

Before she could think anymore of it… the eight shinobi jumped in front of them, halting their progress.

"Halt! Who dares come into Kasai no kuni territory!" a teen with a green jump suit exclaimed. His two teammates lowered their heads in embarrassment at their leader antics.

The other group looked at the green boy in displeasure… however Konan was able to identify one of the shinobi. She had dark blue hair and wore a long sleeve, thigh length jacket… if Konan wasn't mistaking she was the kunoichi that had fought Pein in an attempt to free the Kyūbi.

The blue hair kunoichi stared at the Konoha shinobi impassively, it was the Inuzuka that pointed her out.

"Hey…! You are Akatsuki, what are doing within our country?!" he demanded, his dog growling threatening at her.

The Ame shinobi tensed at the Konoha's brat insulting tone. Konan put her hand up, telling them that she would deal with this nuisance.

"Hai, I am Akatsuki no Konan and if you wish to know we are heading for Kumogakure to assist in the upcoming war." She responded calmly. Konan looked to the sides, the shinobi that had been in the back were slowly starting to surround the Konoha ninja.

The dark hair woman stared at her intently… however was also aware that they were greatly out numbered. Her red eyes flickered towards Gai's student, she hopes that he was going to do anything stupid and think before acting rashly. The woman stepped forward and gave a sign to her students to remain quiet.

"I'm Yūhi Kurenai and were are heading to Kumo this instant… we did not realize that such a large force would be passing by Kasai no kuni." Kurenai said diplomatic, she could see that Kiba was itching to attack the blue hair woman.

The Akatsuki tilted her head, "if you wish you may accompany us… but please be warned that my man won't tolerate any form of disrespect."

The Konoha shinobi looked at one another… it would be wise to travel with this group and learn as much about them as possible, but would some of them be able to keep their cool and not get into any trouble.

Kurenai sighed, "It would be our pleasure… please lead the way."

Kiba growled and glared at the Akatsuki woman, he unlike some in the village was aware of the alliance and by looking at Kurenai-sensei he could guess that so were the High rank jōnin. Neji, Hinata, Lee, Shino and Tenten looked at Kurenai questioningly… the Inuzuka shuddered remembering the threat of the Hokage if they spoke about what had happened at the summit.

"Kurenai-sensei, is this wise?" he asked not taking his eyes of the woman. Neji hadn't been present during Pein's invasion, but he has heard enough stories to know what she can do.

"Neji, forgive me… it isn't common knowledge and the Kages wish for it to stay that way." She saw his questioning look and sighed, better at least them find out now… get it out of their systems then in Kumogakure. "I will tell you, but you must promise me that you can't tell anybody else."

The four clueless shinobi nodded.

Konan observed with little interest… they were wasting time, but she knew that it would be unwise to just leave them. They might take it the wrong way.

"The Kages have agreed to a temporary alliance with the resurrected members of Akatsuki." She said in a careful voice watching their reactions.

Tenten eyes widened in surprise not believing the jōnin, after everything they have been through… now they had to fight with those bastards! Neji's face as usual didn't show any emotions but Kurenai could see that he was looking at the blue hair woman more intently. It was obvious he wasn't going to trust her anytime soon.

Shino just shrugged, "this will be good. Why? Because I have already fought that woman and she is not an easy opponent to beat… it will be better to have her on our side."

Hinata looked at her sensei unsure, worry. "Sensei… what about Naruto-kun? Won't he be in danger with them around?"

Kurenai closed her eyes, however before she could answer a cold voice spoke.

"Do not worry, Hyūga… we will not touch the jinchūriki." Konan answered and started walking across the river. The shinobi tensed. "Now we have wasted enough time, you may join us if you wish… if not please let us pass." She said politely.

The seven Konoha shinobi looked at her but reluctantly nodded.

"Good, please try to keep up… we won't be resting until we reach Kumogakure." She informed offhandedly.

Tenten had to cover her energetic teammate's mouth before he started going off on a speech of how youthful the woman is. The weapon expert had a feeling that the Akatsuki woman wouldn't appreciate the rant and noise.

"Quiet, you baka!" she hissed and waited for a second until she felt his head move. Tenten let him go and began walking, the Konoha shinobi silently agreed that they would remain at the front with the Akatsuki female.

Konan exhaled and looked straight a head, this journey wasn't going to be as relaxing as she originally thought. She hopes that the Konoha-gakis would be smart enough to keep their mouths shut.

**-o-The Bastard, The Flower and The Shark-o-**

The three Akatsuki raced across the beach, from what Kisame had told Sakura they were looking for a piece of land that would allow them to see the roof of the Daimyō's palace. From there, they would walk to the palace.

Sakura sighed and focused a once more of her chakra into her feet, they had been traveling since before dawn… thanks to the rigid Uchiha. She cursed him once more in her mind. At this exact moment she wished so much that Deidara were here… she would never say it out loud but his birds did make things easier.

"Oi, pinky… how is the jutsu coming?" asked the blue skin ninja trying to break the long silence.

The pink hair kunoichi grimace, "it's more difficult then I would have thought. I've mastered the seals that didn't take long, however the split of the conscious is trickier then I imagined. Every time I preform it, I lose complete awareness of my body… Itachi-teme has tied me up every time." She glared at the Uchiha's back. Sakura swears that he always made sure to be in front of her. She could never catch up. "Sharky, I can assure you that I've spent more time getting out of his knots that actually practicing."

Kisame chuckled, '_never thought you were the kinky type Itachi-san._' He joked to his partner.

Itachi didn't bother to reply, however he did send him a glare with enough killing intent that would have made a regular chūnin freeze in his tracks.

"One more question pinky…" Sakura raised her eyebrows with curiosity. "How good are you at focusing on more then one thing at a time?"

Sakura tilted her head and gave some serious consideration. Thanks to her medical training and training with Tsunade she knows how to focus on at least two things at a time. "Not bad, why?"

The shark-nin ignored her question, "are you able to have a conversation with someone yet be thinking of something else at the same time?"

Sakura frowned at his question, not understanding were he was going with this.

She gave a stiff nod, though she herself wasn't completely sure.

"Kisame enough," Itachi said. "This questions are pointless… there is no way for a person to understand unless they have experience it."

Sakura turned her head so fast that she was sure that she got whiplashed. They came to a stop and when she squinted her eyes she could barely make out the palace. Itachi didn't give them enough time to catch their breath and before square could ask how they were going to walk the island.

"Kisame-san, if you would…"

With an amount of chakra that left Sakura speechless Kisame slapped his hands between the water and land, "Suiton: Hadōseigyo (Water Style: Wave Control)!" His chakra flowed into the water and stabilized the crashing waves. Itachi stepped on top of the crystal blue water, Kisame looked at the pinkette pointedly. She gulped but didn't dare hesitant a second longer and got on the water. The mist ninja focused his chakra on his feet and before dispelling the jutsu got onto the ocean.

"That was impressive fish-face," she mumbled.

"Thank you pinky," he said with a small smile. It wasn't often that he was commented on his skills.

"Sakura-san, when we reach Chi no kuni (Blood country)… you will continue to work on the jutsu." Itachi informed in an icy voice.

Her eyes narrowed, "what will you two be doing?"

Itachi looked at her, but decided to answer. "Kisame and I will be talking with the Daimyō to get the details of the mission. You will not accompany us because he does not know you… the Daimyō has issue trusting shinobi."

Kisame snorted, "that is an understatement. Last time we were here… it took us a whole month for the geezer to tell us the mission. We only stuck around because we had nothing better to do. From what I've heard, his parents were killed by shinobi and he saw it happen."

"No it is true… I saw the report myself when I was younger." Itachi added for once voluntary.

Sakura gapped, "it was Konoha?" she asked, still being surprised how cruel her village could be. "Why did they kill them?"

"Hai, the previous Daimyō was thinking of allying with the old Hanagakure… in those years Hanagakure wasn't the peaceful village it is today." The Uchiha explained.

"There were also rumors that they were planning on invading Ocha no kuni (Tea country) once things were settled." Kisame added.

Sakura sighed, though she couldn't help but ask. "Were these rumors ever confirmed?"

Itachi looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "No, however Ocha no Daimyō (Feudal Lord of Tea) hired Konoha's service, as well as offered them a complete economic alliance in exchange for the village not to ask questions."

Sakura closed her eyes and tried to erase the thoughts of what her once beloved village was capable of doing. Who knew how many people had died that night? A young boy saw his family die, and who knows how many more shared the same fate?

"How much longer till we reach shore?" the pinkette asked trying to ignore the little voice in the back of her head.

Kisame chuckled, 'pinky is trying to ignore what is right in front of her.'

"An hour, at this pace." He answered, none of them bothering to speed up.

* * *

**There you have it and just before my vacation is over. Because of this my monthly updates will most likely go down, but I will continue it. This fic has a long way to go and how many chapters are left is anybody's guess. **


	18. Wind Pt3

**Hello to you all, a new chapter has been completed and the separated stories are slowly taking form. I will remind you that this is all a prelude to the upcoming war. This arc sets the stage and fills in a few holes about the month of training. I know a good deal of you wish to see Sakura kicking butt and becoming a sudden badass… well it won't be like that… she is stronger then she was before, however most of the Akatsuki is still stronger then her. And based on experience they hold the upper hand in any fight that they would have with her.**

**So here is the 3****rd**** installation of the Arc and I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

**-o-Artist Duo-o-**

The artist duo walked in silence with Daiki between them. Sasori noted that this was the quietest that his partner had ever been during one of their missions.

They reached the boarder of Ongaku no kuni and the explosive expert sighed… if it were during any other time they would have chartered a boat and lost five days doing nothing.

"Brat… we require transportation." Sasori stated calmly.

Deidara grunted and produced one large double winged bird. He laid it down at their feet and the hime climbed aboard the impressive creature. Sasori took the back as Deidara stepped onto the front. He smirked, it wasn't often that his danna agreed to flying on his birds without him bugging the puppeteer for a few hours or it being an order from Nagato.

"We'll be there by sundown, yeah." The explosive expert informed the other two.

"Perfect, Nagato will be please to hear that we will arrive ahead of schedule." Sasori added.

"You going to speak with him now?" the blonde asked incredulously.

"Make sure you don't kill us, brat." Sasori stated dryly. Deidara smirked and chuckled inwardly at his partner's attempted humor.

Sasori rolled his eyes and concentrated his chakra into his ring, it started to shine a bright purple. Daiki had to advert her eyes for them no to get hurt.

Sasori closed his eyes and next thing he knew; he stood in front of Nagato.

'_Nagato-san, we are flying to Yumegakure… I believe that we'll complete this mission by tonight. Afterwards we'll rest for the night and fly back into Chikyū no kuni (Earth country)…._' A chakra form with amber/brown eyes reported.

The rinnegan wielder inclined his head as he looked through more of the Uzumaki's scrolls. '_Good… I expect you and Deidara to be at Kumogakure in less then a week._'

Sasori bowed his head in understanding and decided to look around before ending the jutsu. '_Nagato-san if you don't mind me asking… what are you doing in the ruins of Uzu no kuni?_'

'_Very perceptive of you, Sasori, and no I don't mind,_' he looked up from what he was reading and stared directly at the puppeteer. '_Have you noticed… that we aren't exactly normal? Perhaps a different type of chakra flowing coursing your veins?_'

The puppet master looked down and really thought about it. What Nagato was saying did have some bases… just thinking back on everything that they have been through, he could only agree. A clear example was his partner… though he has always had a large chakra reserve, however flying for long durations of time like they were planning to do... was even pushing the brat's limits.

'_I don't know about the foreign chakra, though I have noticed a change... why?_' he asked trying to get more information.

Nagato titled his head in acknowledgment, '_I believe that the bijūs have something to do with it._' He noticed the puppeteer's eyes widened, '_it was with their chakra that we are here... I wish to know what it all means._' He murmured the last part more to himself.

'_What have you found out?_' Sasori inquired... not in a rush to get back to his partner. He could tell that they were flying steady and that his partner was still okay and hadn't killed the hime.

Nagato exhaled and as he saw no reason as to why he shouldn't tell the puppeteer... he told him everything that he had discovered. Sasori tilted his head analyzing every detail and looked at the rinnegan wielder.

'_Nagato-san, if you don't object, when I find the time I'll try to experiment with this. Perhaps if I concentrate, I'll be able to locate it's origins._' The short redhead offered.

The Uzumaki analyzed the idea, 'yes I had been thinking of doing that myself before heading towards Kumogakure... having more minds on this task would be wiser. Now that I think about, it would be best to have Itachi in on this... as well as Konan when she reaches the village.'

'_Very well Sasori, yet keep an eye on Deidara… who knows how his chakra will react to all of this._'

Sasori scoffed, '_that indeed can become an issue._'

Nagato inclined his head and turned back to the scrolls, dismissing the puppeteer. Sasori sighed and broke the jutsu, when he opened his eyes he was back on the bird.

Deidara glanced back, "what did Nagato-san want, hmm?"

Sasori look at Daiki who was half asleep, "he expects us in Kumogakure in seven days time."

The bomber snorted, "Damn slave driver, yeah."

**-o-Tenshi-o-**

Konan, the Konoha shinobi and the small villages' forces passed the boarder into Kaminari no kuni… and as they made their way into the Military Barracks, Konan stopped. The shinobi of Kusa, Ame and Ishi did the same, the Konoha shinobi kept running a few meters before halting.

The burū tenshi paid them no mind and took off her cloak, as much as she stood by what it represented… she didn't feel like being attacked by all the clueless shinobi that were already residing there. Konan handed her cloak to one of Ame's high-ranking jōnin.

"Keep that safe for me, I'll want it back when we reach the Raikage's tower." She ordered and started walking again.

Kiba and Lee started at her in shock; who would have guessed that she had a body like that, and what she was wearing was not at all conservative. Tenten came up from behind them and smacked them on their heads.

"Bakas, at least try and not be so obvious, you perverts." She chided. As she looked at the blue hair woman, she felt the urge to go and speak to her. The weapon master wished to understand how a woman like her could be in an organization with lunatics such as Kisame and Kakuzu, and without the cloak she looked less intimidating… more approachable.

The brown hair teen walked towards the origami master and tried to clear her throat. Konan looked at the young kunoichi from the corners of her eyes.

"Um…" Tenten started but wasn't sure what to call the freighting kunoichi.

"Konan," the older woman supplied.

"Konan-san," Tenten looked down nervously at her hands. "I wish to understand how you can be part of an organization such as Akatsuki." Her words spilled out of her mouth, without her really thinking about what she was saying.

Konan looked at the girl carefully and not that she would show it, but she was surprised with how honest the teen was being. It took courage to speak ones mind so freely.

"What is your name?" asked Konan.

The weapon mistress gulped but answered with a steady voice, "Tenten."

"Tenten, what exactly is it that you want to know?"

Tenten sighed, she couldn't believe that this woman was going to make her repeat her question. However, she did take a moment to think about what she was asking, Tenten had a feeling that she was only going to be able to ask her one think.

"Why are you part of Akatsuki?"

Konan looked a head stoically, almost as though she hadn't heard the younger girl. A minute latter she started to talk.

"It may surprise you, but I am one of the founding members of Akatsuki… and Pein has been my partner and closest friend for years now. We both have the same dream of living in a peaceful world, but because of what we have lived through, we came to realize that our methods weren't going to work." Konan said calmly, doing her best to hide her sadness.

The younger kunoichi stared at the blue hair Akatsuki in surprise, all she most have lived through.

"So your sensei was also Jiraiya-sama?" she asked unconsciously.

Konan didn't mind answering the young girl, "hai."

Tenten, with that information could guess why this woman was partnered with Pein and by what she had heard from some chūnin that she had also been present during the invasion and destruction of Konoha.

"Ah, I see the anger in your eyes… I was wondering how long it would take." Konan said matter-of-factly.

"What… why?" Tenten stuttered in surprise.

"Human nature is predictable… and though you were not present during the invasion, I am sure that you have heard stories." The bluenette looked at the girl, "Your next question will be if I regret my past actions?" Konan turned her glare upwards and watched the birds fly away. "My answer is no… regretting what one has done will only make life harder. At that time, I believed in what I was doing… and I admit… I did enjoy doing to your village what it has done to mine during the last great wars."

With that Konan speed off a head, Tenten could only stare at her back. After all of that she could still not understand the sole Akatsuki female.

"She's not telling you everything Tenten," Neji said quietly from behind her.

The girl sighed, "I guessed that much." She turned and looked at him in the eyes. "What do you say about all of this?"

Neji thought about it for a second and exhaled. "There is more to her story that is obvious, and she holds a great amount of sadness for whatever happened. Though, everything she's said was truthful however vague it was. It'll be best to wait and see, I've got the feeling that will be seeing more of Akatsuki before this war is over."

**-o-The Bastard, The Flower and The Shark-o-**

Itachi and Kisame walked through the Daimyō's home at ease, confident that they had made it before schedule.

"Akatsuki-sans!" a servant rushed towards the two ominous shinobi.

Itachi sighed though looked at the servant without interest. "Hai?"

"Daimyō-sama is waiting for you in the sun room." The young man informed them panting.

The Uchiha and Kiri-nin changed direction without another word, not even thanking the air deprived man.

"Kisame, once we finish here and before we head off… I'll have to contact Nagato."

"What for?" asked the shark-nin curiously.

The Uchiha stared out of a near by window… his thoughts going off to their pink hair teammate.

"He desires to know about Sakura-san's progress." He said distractedly.

Kisame snickered darkly, "he won't be please… her concentration is lacking, but what is worse is that her reserves are inappropriate for long term communication." He evaluated out loud. "Is it wise for her to stay with us?"

Itachi turned and looked at ahead. "It does not matter anymore… she knows too much about us."

The blue skin chuckled, "poor pinky… she has no clue into what she's really gotten herself into."

The two shinobi entered the room and the Daimyō stared at them… 'It has been some years and Itachi has sure grown.'

"Itachi-san, you sure are no longer the little boy that came here so many years ago." The old man stated as he stared at his flowers. "I believe that it has been nearly a decade since you two were last here."

Kisame chuckled; he knows that his partner hates to be seen as a little kid.

"The rumors of what you did, reached all the way out here… what were you 14?" the Daimyō asked not really caring. "Nonetheless, I do not care… I have never cared for the great nation's politics."

Itachi sighed inwardly, he knows that not matter what happens now… the actions of his past will always define him.

"13," the red eye-nin corrected. "What is that we can help you with?"

The Daimyō nodded in approval, "always right down to business, Itachi-san." He gaze flickered to the Kiri-nin. "Where are my manners?" he asked rhetorically. "It's good to see you too Kisame-san."

The lord's gaze drifted to the Konoha-nin, "shinobi from the old Hanagakure have taken residency at Chi no Dōkutsu (Blood Caves) at the other side of the island. Their presence there has started to unnerve the villages around the area."

Kisame smirked, "you wish for us to take care of them."

"Hai," the Daimyō replied returning to his flowers. "The new Hanagakure wishes for these ninjas to disappear, they do not desire any reminder of their past to tarnish their present goals. I myself will not tolerate rebels."

"As you wish," Itachi responded as he turned to leave the room not caring if they were dismissed or not.

"Itachi-san," the lord called to him. "Do not return here, once the mission is completed leave the country immediately."

"Understood," answered the Uchiha coldly. He could already picture the argument they were going to have with the pinkette waiting for them outside of the palace.

Kisame and Itachi left the palace not having the patience to go through all the formalities of the royals.

Once they got outside, the duo headed into the forest to their right and looked for the waiting kunoichi. They spotted her immediately; pink really didn't blend into the green around her, as she had told the shark… it was obvious that she was completely unaware of her surroundings. An enemy could simply come and kill her; she wouldn't be able to put up a once of a fight.

Itachi shock his head an inch, "Kisame-san, a mild water jutsu should bring her back."

The Uchiha's partner snickered, "not very nice kid… but I can't see a reason why not." He said and formed the tiger seal as he concentrated very little of his chakra in his mouth and spitted out at the kunoichi's face. 'Suiton: Teppōdama (Water Style: Liquid Bullets)'

The bullet of water crashed into her face and broke her out of her trance. She started to sputter the water out of her mouth and nose, once she was able to hold still she glared at the blue skin male.

"What was that for?!" the pinkette demanded.

Kisame shrugged and began to follow his partner, "you're lucky we weren't enemy shinobi." He gave her a reprimanding look, "however we must get going. We do not have time to lose."

Sakura bounced forward, ignoring her wet hair and t-shirt.

"Great, what's the mission?"

Kisame looked at her unsure now, "you're not going to like it pinky." He warned.

She tilted her head confused, "try me…."

He shrugged, but turned to his partner… Itachi sent her a calculating look.

"It is our specialty," the sharingan wielder started.

She stopped in front of him and gave him a demanding stare. "Be more specific Itachi-san."

He looked at her coldly not at all fazed, normal shinobi would be shaking in fear at her glare. Itachi should already know by now how bad her temper can be… Hidan had been victim of her rage on numerous occasions. Unfortunately he was too fast for her to touch, a punch would never make it. Sakura could still remember the stupid game Sasori had come up with to punish her and at the same time doing a favor for Kakuzu.

* * *

**Well there you have, hope you like it and if you did review. See you next time, hope it won't be such a long wait as this time. **


	19. Wind Pt4

**Here is the fourth part of this adventures arc and things are starting to get tense. What will happen and how will the villages react when the truth about their lovely cherry blossom becomes known. **

**All these questions will be answered in the upcoming chapter; also pieces of the month of training will come to light.**

* * *

Knowing the truth is painful,

acknowledging it…

hurts even more.

Surviving in this world…

is harder then we all imagine.

* * *

_**She stopped in front of him and gave him a demanding stare. "Be more specific Itachi-san."**_

_**He looked at her coldly not at all fazed, normal shinobi would be shaking in fear at her glare. Itachi should already know by now how bad her temper can be… Hidan had been victim of her rage on numerous occasions. Unfortunately he was too fast for her to touch, a punch would never make it. Sakura could still remember the stupid game Sasori had come up with to punish her and at the same time doing a favor for Kakuzu.**_

* * *

**-o-A few days after starting training-o-**

_Sasori stared analytically at the pink hair kunoichi. It had been just his dumb luck that Itachi had been called away to a mission in Amegakure, and he ended up being the only competent shinobi left in the hideout. The girl was difficult to teach… the teachings of her village were deeply rooted into her being and stopped her from progressing. Her views on the world and what she thought was right from wrong were so hypocritical that he had to refrain himself from strangling her with charka threads. _

"_Will you just shut up," growled the puppeteer._

_Sakura looked at him shocked, getting an emotional rise out him was almost as hard as with Itachi. The only one capable of getting under the puppet master's skin was normally Deidara._

_Sasori rubbed his temples, "you idiotic kunoichi. You accuse me of being inhuman, of being a murderer, of not having any regard for human life, and of being insane." Sasori counted off, the last one being just an after thought. He really didn't care and anyway in some form all shinobi weren't completely sane. "However, answer me these… haven't you ended a life? Wasn't it you that ended up being an instrument to my untimely demise?"_

_His eyes narrowed and studied her further, "you accuse me of all these things… yet don't the villages order their shinobi to kill? Is it not the villages that in a wish to have an ultimate weapon sacrifice the life of one of their own, without even having the person's consent? He took a few steps toward her. "Tell me… what makes all you villages different from Akatsuki?"_

_Sakura stared at him dumbstruck; she had not been expecting that on slot of questions. Though, as quickly as her surprise had appeared it was replaced with anger. "Because we don't kill innocents!" _

_Sasori snorted at her lame excuse, "really and what makes you say that. Does your Hokage ask every wealthy client why they desire someone dead, and even if she knew would she tell you knowing that your moral high ground would force you not to believe that your precious village would be capable of such things?" _

_She glared at him and didn't bother to try to answer anymore of his questions. _

"_You act all high and mighty, as though you are better then us." Sasori continued. It wasn't often he spoke this much… but Itachi was right. She had to learn and see that there really wasn't that much of a difference between the Akatsuki and the villages. "The villages will do anything that provides them with the power to remain superior… and they attacked us because we have become a threat to that superiority." _

_The pinkette stepped back, going into denial. "No, that isn't true… Konoha fights for the greater good. For the protection of it citizens!"_

_It was becoming apparent to the Akatsuki that the poor girl was just going to try and rationalize everything he had just said. "Yet not all the missions are to protect the village… in times of peace shinobi villages become redundant. They take any mission that comes their way just because of the money; it does not matter to them if it requires killing innocent people. Kunoichi, you forget what shinobi are… we are just tools at their disposal." _

_Sakura stared the ex-Suna-nin, 'no, no, no… they are the bad guys, the villages are the good guys…'_

"_Plus what is the greater good… who can even say was exactly that is? When they teach that at the academy, they are referring to their greater good… whatever is more convenient for them to remain in power." He interrupted her mental breakdown forcing her attention back on him. _

"_Nonetheless, we don't kill for our own amusement!" she yelled grasping at straws._

"_We are the products of what the villages made us… it isn't our fault that they didn't like the results." He finished off coldly. Sasori turned away from her and ended the conversation. "Hidan, you're late." _

_The immortal frowned, "what fucking ever?! I'm only fucking here, because the fucking cheap bastard is a bore!" _

_Sasori just looked at him and ignored Hidan's ranting, "As Nagato-san ordered, you have to work on your speed, now that your mental capacities are a lost cost."_

_The pink eye-nin huffed in indignation, but to prove the puppeteer's point it took him a few seconds to realize that he was being insulted. _

"_Hey!" Hidan exclaimed._

_Sasori rolled his eyes in exasperation… 'Kakuzu owes me big for this.' _

"_In truth, I don't feel like training either of you… though it has become obvious to the other members that you two are the slowest of us all." He smirked as he thought of an excellent idea. "You are going to play tag and the one that is it at the end of the one hour period will be forced to clean the whole base." _

_The two shinobi stared at the puppet master as though he were insane. _

"_You must be fucking kidding me?!" protested Hidan. Sakura looked as though she for once was agreeing with the loudmouth banshee. _

_Sasori narrowed his eyes and glared at them coldly. "I do not kid, Hidan, and if you don't follow the rules… everybody here will make sure you don't do any rituals for a complete week."_

_Hidan smartly decided to shut up and not test the sadistic puppeteer. _

"_Ah, silence…" Sasori murmured peacefully. "Very well… you may begin… Sakura-san is it and neither of you are allowed to use ninjutsu." _

_The pair stared at the redhead for a second longer, before Hidan sprinted off. There was no way he was going to lose to this weak kunoichi. Sakura grinded her teeth and chased after him, cursing all the while under her breath. _

**-o-o-o-**

It hadn't been until she was cleaning Deidara's room that the blonde decided to inform her that Sasori had done it on purpose. The puppeteer had predicted that it would be unlikely for her to win… and that was why he decided on that exact punishment. However, during those painful hours that she cleaned every freaking room of the base… she started to think back on what Sasori had said.

She remembered, when Jiraiya died nobody questioned Naruto's desire for revenge… but they never wondered why Pein even existed. Why he did the things he did and was even willing to kill his sensei to reach his dream? What could have happened to him that must have changed him from the boy Jiraiya had known? The only one that knows those answers was Naruto and she had never bothered to ask.

Nonetheless, Sakura had come to the conclusion that she really didn't have a right to judge these men and truly she has been lucky in her life. Never losing a love one in such a devastating way. Or to be molded into the image of other people and not be allowed to be whom she really wanted… in a way, Akatsuki was their escape.

Itachi was still staring at her, determining how she would react.

"We are to assassinate the shinobi that cling onto Hanagakure's old ways." He said slowly making sure that she understood.

"Oh," she whispered and looked at the ground. After a few seconds she turned her eyes to the two waiting Akatsuki. "How… How many will there be?"

"Around 400," he said as it were no bid deal.

Sakura stared at the man in disbelief.

Kisame chuckled, "barely enough to built up a sweat."

"A-and we have to kill every single one of them… why?!"

Itachi looked at her expectantly, "the Chigakure Daimyō wishes for a show of power. He wants everybody to know that he does not tolerate rebels, no matter from what country they are."

The girl nodded, but still couldn't really comprehend… the man they were to kill had nothing against him; they were perhaps only looking for refuge.

"Is this going to be a problem?" the Uchiha asked.

Sakura frowned; she could here his unspoken question… would Kisame and Itachi be able to rely on her? Her eyes hardened as she came to a decision…

"No problem, Itachi-san…" 'I will not be a burden to this people." She finished in her mind.

He nodded and Kisame smirked.

"Good pinky, so lets get going."

"Hai, it will take us the majority of the day to reach the Chi no Dōkutsu (Blood Caves), after we will rest up and attack tomorrow morning." Itachi stated as he started to walk west.

Sakura sighed and followed, still trapped in her internal struggle…however she knew that it was to late to turn back now. Temari would have already told the Kazekage and Tsunade of her suspicious regarding Sakura.

**-o-Suna Kunoichi-o-**

Temari stood in front of her brother and Tsunade. The Hokage's expression was completely blank, though she could tell how this news was breaking her heart. The leader of Team seven was deadly quiet.

Temari looked at the Hokage, not sure what to say and if she should try to explain to them the lure that was Akatsuki.

Kakashi exhaled, first Sasuke, now Sakura… it appeared as though Team 7 was never meant to stay together that the team would always be broken.

"I should have never let her go," Tsunade murmured to herself. This was just like what had happened to Jiraiya, though slightly worse. She could just imagine how Naruto would react if he heard this, of course he would immediately try to deny it… like she had tried.

Gaara sighed, Akatsuki would always be a constant headache for them… and now they had lured one of Konoha's most loyal shinobi and best medic. It was a hard blow.

"What did you learn of Akatsuki during your time there?" the Kazekage asked trying to get back to business, now wasn't the time for them to lose their focus.

Temari sighed and tilted her head in understanding and gratitude. "They have an interesting team dynamic… their leader, Nagato, and his partner the Buru Tenshi, Konan, are barely never in the base. However the communication jutsu they use it really helpful… the leader has kept the members one hundred percent inform of what is being discussed about the war."

Temari looked carefully at the Hokage, "I am not sure, but I believe that during some of those meetings, the Akatsuki leader was speaking with Sasori and Itachi." She sighed and glanced at Kakashi for support in what she was going to say next. "It was also implied that Uchiha Itachi had known Madara since the age of 10 and was part of Akatsuki even before he left Konohagakure no sato."

Kakashi gave a stiff nod, "hai… it's also been revealed that Itachi for some time was his student."

Gaara inclined his head, "that is interesting… this means that Itachi would be inform of Madara's weaknesses and his fighting style."

Temari nodded, but Kakashi continue to speak.

"That may be, however when asked about it he refused to answer." He sighed, "That is not all Akatsuki is till conducting missions."

Tsunade grunted, "we've figured as much… since we have been forced to decline any mission that isn't connected to the war." She turned to the younger blonde, "Temari-san, it has been years since I was in Amegakure… how is the village faring in their hands?"

Temari thought back and grimaced, "Sakura and I went into the village a few times and every time we asked the citizens about their leader or Akatsuki… they would have the highest of praises for them. They regard Nagato as Kami and the shinobi all seem to be prepared to fight for him. Sakura once asked about the civil war that was rumored to have been taking place there… the people laughed and said that that civil war only lasted one night and that it had been Pein that took the village on his own."

Tsunade grunted, from what had happened in Konoha… she could believe it. Amegakure was a much smaller village and its military force after the third war, was nowhere as big as Konoha's.

Gaara nodded, this wasn't going to be good for the allied forces.

"Do you have any idea how their shinobi have taken to the idea of the alliance?"

Temari inclined her, her eyes lost in thought. "Hai, Konan took us to the village the day she informed them of the upcoming war and that they would be participating in it."

**A week after starting training- **

_Konan, Sakura and Temari walked through the village gates. Nagato had made sure that that day it wouldn't rain and the rays of the sun that broke through the grey clouds made the pipe towers shine. _

"_Konan-san, what are we doing here?" Sakura asked carefully, it wasn't often that the female Akatsuki came to the base or even acknowledged their existence. _

_Konan looked at the girl from the corner of her eyes and wondered if she had ever looked so innocent. They were both kunoichi, but were separated by a world of experiences. _

"_You've come to accompany me in informing Ame's shinobi of the upcoming war, as well that we have made a treated with the great nations."_

_Temari cocked her head, "that still doesn't explain why…" _

"_All of Amegakure's shinobi know each member of Akatsuki… you are coming with me for them to be able to recognize you and for them to know that you are protectors of this village. They will follow your command, if either Nagato, myself or a senior member of Akatsuki isn't around." _

_The girls followed the older women, not believing how much power the Akatsuki held. _

_What Konan hadn't told them was that she wanted the pinkette to see for her own eyes, how the shinobi of small villages see the bigger and for her to come the conclusion that they aren't as noble as they make themselves out to be. She sighed inwardly; all the members have been doing this… some in more obvious ways then others. All their efforts were being focused on the pink hair kunoichi… her insecurities were perfect for them to make her doubt her place back in Konoha. _

_As they made their way to their destination several hundred shinobi stood at the foot of what could easily be the tallest tower in the village. The shinobi they passed bowed and murmured their greetings to their Tenshi-sama (Lady Angel). _

"_As you all know, we are heading into war." Konan stated getting straight to the point, "are enemy is a formable opponent and he used to be an ally of this village, Tobi, or as he is calling himself nowadays, Uchiha Madara."_

_The shinobi grumbled and some started to curse._

"_That bastard…!"_

"_How could he?!"_

"_Wasn't he the one that attacked Tenshi-sama?!" _

_Konan looked down at her men and women. "Hai, Tobi managed to come into our home and overpower me." _

"_If Tenshi-sama can't beat him, how will we survive this war?!" _

_Konan sighed, "Pein-sama has made a deal with the villages… we shall face this enemy together and be force to fight along side the greater villages."_

"_What?!" _

"_How can we… it's because of them that our land has been plaque with war for the last century!" a certain bold woman stepped out and demanded. _

"_Hai, do not forget, I myself have suffered at their hands and I understand all your pain. So has Pein-sama… we are doing this for the survival of our village. Even if we do not participate during this war, Tobi/Madara will come for this village." _

_A certain smart young jōnin spoke out, "will he be coming for Pein-sama?!" _

_Konan eyes never soften, "hai."_

_The jōnin nodded and turned to her comrades, "then we must fight. Pein-sama has brought peace to our village and we cannot let some idiot to come after him. He has protected us and during the last years we have thrive under his rule!"_

_The jōnin around her stayed quiet and contemplated what she said. It was a few moments later that they all began to shout their agreement._

"_Hai, for Pein-sama!" _

"_Pein-sama!" _

_Konan bowed her head ever slightly; "we thank you for your support… in a month's time we shall head to Kumogakure, during this time prepare for war." _

"_Hai!" they exclaimed in unison and dispersed. _

_Sakura stared at Konan in shock. "Did they really have a choice?"_

_She gave the pinkette a cold stare, "hai… this is not their war. We would never force them to sacrifice their lives for us. We would never use any of them as shields against our enemy or make them face an opponent that we ourselves are not willing to fight." _

"_Was __Sanshōuo no Hanzō (Hanzō of the Salamander) really that bad…?" Sakura asked uncertain._

_Konan resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but answered her anyway. "Hai… at the end he was paranoid and forgot that his main mission was to protect the village from harm. He enjoyed his place of power way too much and anything was ever presented as a threat for his power… he just decided to eliminate it."_

**-o-o-o-**

"So they are fighting for their village leader… problematic how he is the leader of Akatsuki." Tsunade murmured.

Temari nodded, "hai…"

Gaara sighed, "This isn't going to end well. The Ame shinobi and most likely the Kusa and Ishi shinobi respect the Akatsuki and looked at them as some sort of heroes for the smaller nations. This difference of perspective regarding the criminal organization will create tension and be the cause for unnecessary fights."

Tsunade inclined her head in agreement; "there is nothing we can do about it now."

He lowered his head and looked out the window… 'Yes, they were going to have to deal with the consequences of their decisions, and all they could do now is wait for what will happen when those shinobi of the small nations arrive in Kumogakure.'

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed and either if you didn't review… you opinion matters and always know that if I don't answer… I have taken your opinion into account and in some way it will influence the story.**

**See you next time, AIR!**


	20. Wind Pt5

**Well December is here and the holidays are just a few days away. I've realized that this story has becoming a monthly occurrence and I wish it wasn't that way. I'll like to thank:**

**Antex-The Legendary Zoroark for all of your reviews and unwavering support, you constantly remind me to continue this story and update it whenever I finish a chapter.**

**Guest of Sept 22; I am glad that you were able to re find this fic and for you question… yes the pairing has been decided, but the answer to that question will not come for a few more chapters into the future. At the moment I am focusing on developing all my main characters that is the Akatsuki and firmly show my position when it comes down to the villages and how they see the organization. **

**As well as: **

**birchnoakatsuki**

**Clainha**

**Happywheal**

**Shy911**

**S Nightshade**

**For Following or Favoriting this story.**

* * *

Face to face…  
With death itself.  
What is known as truth,  
is about to be challenged  
and conflict shall rise.

* * *

_**"So they are fighting for their village leader… problematic how he is the leader of Akatsuki." Tsunade murmured.**_

_**Temari nodded, "hai…"**_

_**Gaara sighed, "This isn't going to end well. The Ame shinobi and most likely the Kusa and Ishi shinobi respect the Akatsuki and looked at them as some sort of heroes for the smaller nations. This difference of perspective regarding the criminal organization will create tension and be the cause for unnecessary fights."**_

_**Tsunade inclined her head in agreement; "there is nothing we can do about it now."**_

_**He lowered his head and looked out the window… 'Yes, they were going to have to deal with the consequences of their decisions, and all they could do now is wait for what will happen when those shinobi of the small nations arrive in Kumogakure.'**_

* * *

**-o-Tenshi-o-**

Konan walked calmly through the high rock mountains leading her shinobi to the Alliance preparation grounds. As they arrived the shinobi dispersed and made their way to prepare their resting place. The shinobi that was caring her cloak followed close by as she made her way to Raikage's tower. The leaders of the five villages should already be there, bickering over some nonsense or another.

The blue hair Akatsuki noticed that she was being followed by the jōnin sensei from Konoha, however she decided to not pay her much attention.

As she reached the tower and walked up to the meeting room, Kurenai's eyes harden on the woman… she was walking straight to the Kages, not caring for proper procedure. Konan came to a door and open it without bothering to knock… surprising the chūnin that was designated to be proxy commander for the 4th division.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow in surprise, not recognizing the woman.

"Don't you know how to knock!" the Raikage demanded.

The blue hair woman stared at the Raikage coldly, "I believe you saw me entering the tower Raikage." She stated simply. It amazed Shikamaru how she wasn't at all effected by the man's temper, normally a person would be shaking where they stood and be trying to make amends.

Mei looked at the woman more closely, "forgive us… Konan-san, but we barely recognized you without your cloak."

The woman looked back at the shinobi that was standing behind her, the man inclined his head and passed her a folded black cloak.

Shikamaru started to pale, really trying hard not to believe who this woman is and what that cloak represents.

"I did not wish to draw attention to myself," she said emotionless as she put on the cloak. Shikamaru's face lost all its color as he stared at the red cloud.

'What the hell is going on here?' he asked himself and looked back at the Kages.

They did not seemed surprised at all to see the Akatsuki woman. Her gaze fell on him.

"Ah, the young Nara…you were the one responsible for Hidan's death. If I remember correctly." The woman greeted him dryly. It was impossible to read her emotions.

"Hokage-sama…?" Shikamaru voiced uncertainly.

"Shikamaru, I was hoping to inform you before she arrived," Tsunade glared turned to the cold woman. "You got here earlier then we had expected."

Konan didn't bother to reply and stared at the boy. She wondered what his reaction would be if she told him that Hidan and Kakuzu were still alive.

"We do not rest until we reach our destination," she explained. "Kages the rest of Akatsuki will be arriving in the following week. As agreed on we will remain within the tower… Kakuzu and Hidan will probably be the first to arrive…"

"What?!" exclaimed Shikamaru. His face was livid and was staring at the Hokage demanding answers.

Tsunade sighed, damn woman said that on purpose. "Shikamaru! Silence! I understand that it is hard to believe, but Akatsuki with some unknown jutsu was able to resurrect all of their members."

"What?!" he exclaimed once more, thinking about how hard everybody from Konoha worked to get rid of those bastards.

Tsunade sighed, "hai, Shikamaru… and to put it simple… the enemy of my enemy is our friend." She looked up at the woman and her eyes hardened, "at least for the time being."

Shikamaru stood there silent, not really able to believe it. 'Does this also include Pein… man all this is a drag.'

Konan exhaled and got back to the point now that she had her momentary fun. "Around seven battalions (1 battalion= 1000 shinobi) have arrived with me, they are down at the camping grounds. They have all been informed to which division they have been assigned to."

Gaara walked forward and remembered what Temari had told them, but a few days back. "Only high rank jōnin know of Akatsuki's presences in the war. Will your shinobi not get angry when the shinobi of the great nations talk disrespectfully about their so call saviors?"

Konan tilted her head and began to make her way out of the room, the Ame shinobi close by. "No, they know to ignore anything that is said about Akatsuki from the great villages… isn't that correct Kaito-san?"

The shinobi behind her inclined his head, "hai tenshi-sama." He answered firmly.

"If conflict is to arise it won't be because of Amegakure, Kusagakure or Ishigakure." She finished without turning around and left the room.

The Raikage growled, "that damn woman!"

"She is the perfect example of what a shinobi should be," the Tsuchikage said. "Not an ounce of emotion can be seen on her face… and to be honest it is slightly unnerving."

"Agreed," mumbled the Mizukage.

The Hokage turned to the still freaked out Nara. "Shikamaru, I believe it doesn't need to be said that all you've heard here today doesn't leave this room. You would have been informed eventually as proxy commander."

Shikamaru shifted his gaze from the door to the blonde woman, "hai Hokage-sama."

**-o-Artist Duo-o-**

Deidara landed the bird within the Yume no Daimyō's palace walls. He just wanted to get this mission over with and afterwards hunt down Nagato and blow him up into tiny little pieces. He long ago had decided to forget this part about his life, when he use to be a terrorist bomber for hire and pretended to be somebody he wasn't. Perhaps that had been the only good thing that came out of joining Akatsuki, he could stop hiding.

He remembers when Akatsuki came looking for him… he had decided to pretend he didn't know who they were, but it had been such an idiotic lie. Every nuke-nin who survived their first 3 months off running would hear about the infamous, secretive organization… for some it sounded like the ideal place if they wanted some form of security, fame and steady income. However, Deidara thought that it would be just another place that would try to control him and use him for his unique talents. What he had never imagined finding was people who understood him to some extent, that didn't judge him for what he enjoyed doing… and at the very least the leader was straight forward with his members.

The blonde sighed and looked around the palace grounds, guards were already starting to surround the clay bird. 'Idiots, if we wanted you dead we wouldn't have given you the chance to even defend yourselves.'

Sasori glanced at his partner and decided that it would be better for him to do all the talking. "We are here to deliver the hime no Ongaku for her wedding."

The guards looked nervously at each other and some couldn't take their eyes of the shinobi's infamous cloaks. The Daimyō walked out into the courtyard, curious to see what had his guards on edge.

When he saw the young hime that was to marry his musuko (son) he glared at his men.

"Lower your weapons men," he commanded and gave the Akatsuki a wary stare. "They do not mean us harm."

Daiki smiled politely and tried to get off the bird as gracefully as possible. The Daimyō offered her his hand and handed her off to one of the curious maids that were standing in the courtyard.

"I thank you for delivering the hime here safely, the war has all of us smaller nations on edge. I am just glad that my land is far enough from the action to not get involve accidently." The Daimyō said.

The Akatsuki listened halfheartedly, Deidara performed a seal and released the bird. He would never admit it out loud, but flying did some times pushed him to his limits. However for some reason, he did feel as tire as he usual did after traveling such a long distance.

Sasori kept his eyes on the Daimyō and his guards, "Daimyō-san if you would not mind we will stay the night here in the village nearby."

The Daimyō looked at the puppeteer in distress, "no, no Akatsuki-san… let me thank you two for delivering the hime here. Please stay the here… it is the least that I can do."

The pair shared a look and after a few seconds Deidara shrugged. He was tired and walking anymore sounded like torture. The redhead sighed and gave in, 'damn human needs!'

"Very well…."

The Daimyō grinned and assured the pair inside, giving his guards a pointed look. The guards gave a stiff nod and returned to their posts.

The Daimyō gave a few orders and within minutes Deidara and Sasori found themselves in a very large room with two beds.

"Something feels off, Sasori-danna," murmured Deidara.

"Agreed," the puppeteer made his way to his bed and sat cross-legged on top of the covers. "Deidara, stay vigilant… I must do something for a few hours and it will require my complete concentration."

The bomber snorted, "fine…"

Sasori barely heard the blonde as he was already getting into a deep meditated state. He didn't know what he was supposed to do, but decided in clearing his mind and study his chakra network. It was different from when he was puppet, he felt everything through his chakra and even then he didn't feel some of the simplest of things. It frustrated him at the time that emotions didn't reside in the human body, but inside the mind and heart. He could never really get rid of them unless he decided to die and that had been his very decision at the end.

As he began to follow his chakra through his body, he experimentally sent a shock of chakra into his ring, remembering his conversation with Nagato. He started to note a different swirl of chakra coming from the metal, it wasn't the normal chakra he felt that connected him to the other members of Akatsuki… but something more powerful that was connected to his spiritual energy. This chakra was connected directly to his life force.

That revelation was already unsettling, if it was something ominous it would but all their lives in danger and he wasn't planning on dying any time soon. Death wasn't the escape that he had hoped it would be, it was just nothing… worse part being that he kept reliving his last fight with that pink hair girl and his Oba-san.

Sasori delved deeper into his mind and attempted to search for the foreign chakra's origin, however after a few minutes he came to the conclusion that it was impossible. The source was to far away to track, nonetheless he was able to figure out that compare to his regular chakra it had a red tint to its manifestation. He archived that information to the back of his mind and decided to tell Nagato when they next meet.

Deidara watched his partner for a couple of minutes before he grabbed a handful of his clay and started to sculpt whatever came to his mind. He was still uneasy at staying in this village… last time he had been here he had destroyed more then half of the place and the Daimyō's was nothing more then rumble.

As time passed, it was nearly two hours after from when Sasori had gone into his meditated state that Deidara felt movement outside the door and more suspiciously from the other side of the window. His eyes narrowed and he stood up, whatever it was he would try to handle it before disturbing his temperamental partner.

"Um, Akatsuki-sama… I have brought you your dinner," a small female voice said nervously.

Deidara's hand started to chew the clay that he had previously been molding. Something was off, he could sense that it the girl wasn't alone on the other side of the door and as hard as the shinobi were trying they couldn't completely hid their chakra from him.

"Hn, thanks…" he answered normally, walking normally to the door. His sculptures were almost ready. He lazily opened the door and pretended to not know were the shinobi were hiding. All he did was grab the tray with one hand and smile gratefully at the nervous girl. His other hand discreetly let go of his spider creations and mentally directed them to where he knew the shinobi were. As he closed the door, he started to hear the shinobi exclamations and the mad bomber smirked as he perform the seal with a smirk and a smug, "Katsu!"

The explosions rang through the hall and shook the very foundation of the palace, the shinobi outside tensed at the sound and within the second of their comrades' death, burst through the windows and stared at the blonde in hatred. Two shinobi had idiotically gone after the puppet master throwing kunai at him with explosive tags.

Sasori easily dodge the knives and next thing they knew the two couldn't move an inch further.

The puppeteer looked at his partner with stern eyes, "Brat what is the meaning of this?!"

The blonde shrugged as he stared at their opponents, "don't blame me. I took care of the ones outside in the hall already. These are all your though."

Sasori snorted, "your explosions make to much noise brat… breaking me from my concentration like that…" his eyes turned to his two captives. "Now what shall I do with you two…?" he asked absently as he twitched his fingers and to two man move in front of the two Akatsuki. Their comrades looked at the men in confusion.

"What are you two doing?!" exclaimed a kunoichi.

The two shinobi looked at one another nervously, but it was Sasori that answered. "Don't fault these two, for attacking me in such a ridicules manner… I've decided to make them my puppets for the moment, they should be honored."

The now human-puppets turned to the man in fear and their eyes flickered to their comrades in horror, releasing what the puppeteer intended to make them though. Before anybody could say anymore, Sasori's finger twitched and the puppet shinobi took out their weapons and ran towards their comrades. During the first few seconds of shock, half of the shinobi fell the others not intended to harm their comrades dodged their weapons as best they could.

Deidara chuckled, Sasori-danna sure had one wicked sense of humor… forcing the shinobi to be killed by their comrades. The two puppet-shinobi will most likely, if they were allowed to live would remember this night with great pain and shame. Since their enemies didn't want to harm their friends and Sasori held no qualms over killing the lot of them… the fight was over faster then Deidara would have liked.

The puppeteer threw two kunais at his puppets, killing them instantly and released his chakra thread from their limps, the rooms floor was not littered with bodies and deciding that he was hungry, Deidara walked over to the tray and got one of the apples that the maid had brought them.

"You want anything, Danna, hmm?"

Sasori looked over at his partner and shrugged as he caught an apple that the blonde had decided to pass him, hoping to catch him of guard.

"Lets get out of here, brat…"

The blonde nodded and released a clay bird. The two men jump on top of it and took off.

"Seems that the Daimyō did hold a grudge from what happened years ago, yeah."

The puppeteer grunted and took a bite from the fruit.

"He must have made a treaty with the Daimyō from Ongaku… his daughter was part of the payment," Deidara continued staring off into the horizon. "Though, it was also a way to lure me into the village and attempted to end my life with that disgrace of an ambush. Idiot really thought that such a weak attack could kill two Akatsuki members, pitiful really, yeah." The blonde turned his head slightly to look at the redhead. "Think Nagato knew something about this, hmm?"

Sasori tilted his head, "I believe he had his suspicions, because of your past with both countries. Though knew that they wouldn't really, be that much of challenge for either of us." The puppet master smirked, "plus I believe this was his way of getting you off his back and out of Amegakure."

Deidara crossed his arms and huffed in indignation.

* * *

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**Wow that was long and I hope that you all enjoying this fic and for a lot of you thank you for being with me for the last year and half.  
**


	21. Wind Pt6

**Hello everyone and here is the next installment of Diamond Dust. For thank you to everyone who has reviewed and told me how much they like this story and giving me the motivation to continue writing it, especially **darkharuno blossom **and **Jenifael09**. Any who I'll also like to say thank you to, **LesMisAnimeWeirdo**, , **Anciem** and **BlackDisciple** for following. Plus, **Jenifael09**,** kitare**, **ladyjoe123**, **darkharuno blossom **and **Hell's Death Angel** for Following and Favorited. And **Rixxers **for Favoriting.**

* * *

Crossing the line  
Is easier said then done.  
Yet, finding yourself  
Is harder…  
Then we all know.

* * *

_**Sasori tilted his head, "I believe he had his suspicions, because of your past with both countries. Though knew that they wouldn't really, be that much of challenge for either of us." The puppet master smirked, "plus I believe this was his way of getting you off his back and out of Amegakure."**_

_**Deidara crossed his arms and huffed in indignation.**_

* * *

**-o-Kami-o-**

Nagato sprinted through Kumogakure, making sure that nobody saw or sensed him, concealing his chakra and more specifically changing it's frequency in an attempt so nobody could track him. He knew that Konan had already arrived at the village a few days before him and had already secured a place for Akatsuki to stay. The shinobi from the small villages were preparing, however they were still keeping their distance from the Great Nations' shinobi; especially those from Konohagakure.

The rinnegan wielder landed on the balcony of the Raikage's building, Tsunade, Gaara and A, turned and looked at their unexpected guest levelly.

A growled in frustration and glared at the phenomenal, legendary eyes… neither the sharingan or byakugan can compare to the power of that particular doujutsu.

"Greetings," Nagato stated as he walked into the room and studied each Kage.

Tsunade stared at the man as he calmly walked through the room and walked to the door. As he opened the door he turned and looked at her, "Hokage, if you wish you may come with me… I am sure you wish to know more about my chakra transmitters."

The Hokage looked at him slightly surprised by his offer in freely giving them information.

"Why only the Hokage?" barked the Raikage.

Nagato looked at the man calmly, "because she already has an elemental understanding on the subject and I do not feel like explaining more then I must." His gaze fell on the Kazekage, "you may come if you wish." And with that he walked out the room.

Tsunade sighed and shared a knowing look with the youngest Kage. "Raikage I believe it is wisest not to antagonize them at the moment, they are willing to give up information and more specifically information regarding the rinnegan."

A snorted and turned to look at the growing number of shinobi, "whatever… you two go. I'll wait for the Tsuchikage's return."

The Kazekage and Hokage tilted their heads in agreement and puffed out of the room, teleporting to where the Akatsuki were residing.

Tsunade gave them the same courtesy that they had shown them, and walked into the room without knocking. The site that greeted her stopped her in her tracks and caused the Kazekage to raise his eyebrows in surprise.

Nagato was kneeling down looking at the door with his upper body completely exposed. A blue hair woman sat behind him studying his back.

"Sorry… if we are interrupting," Tsunade said not sorry at all and with slight mockery in her voice.

Konan looked over Nagato's shudder and for the first time ever Tsunade saw some type of emotion in her eyes. "You may enter and please close the door." She ordered and went back to studying the rinnegan wielder's back, with a perfectly clean scalpel she sliced his skin open and using a small towel began to clean the wound.

Tsunade's medical curiosity got the best of her and walked over to look at what the woman was doing.

Gaara decided just to watch and leaned against the wall next to the door.

"Nagato…?" Konan murmured.

The redhead inclined his head in understanding and a small black chakra rod manifested from his arm, with his other hand he cleanly broke it from his flesh and handed it to the bluenette. He could feel the Hokage's curious eyes on him.

"They are but a manifestation of my will," he explained.

Tsunade was slightly shocked that he was prepare to answer her unspoken question and with that resolved to speak her mind.

"What is it that you are doing here?"

Konan cleaned the rod and slowly started to slip it into the wound she had inflicted.

"It is there that the Gedo statue first pierced my body, creating my link with the Outer Path." He stated trying his best to ignore the pain.

Tsunade tilted her head, "isn't that where the bijūs are being sealed?"

"Hai," he answered as he manifested another rod and handed it to Konan.

Gaara eyes brows narrowed, "won't this give you control over the statue?"

Nagato looked at the boy closely, "in theory… however now that Madara knows that I am alive he will be blocking my chakra."

"So, why are you doing this?" Tsunade all but demanded.

"I also wish to be linked with my summonings," he turned and looked at her steadily in the eyes. "I'm sure that your shinobi noticed that their eyes had the rinnegan and were pierced with rods like these."

Tsunade grunted and watched as the paper wielder worked, the trust between these two was something she would not have thought possible.

"Why did you invite us here?"

Nagato shrugged and ignored the pain the movement sent through his body, "you would have felt my chakra spike and would have come to investigate…. This way there is no hostility and Konan can focus calmly in what she is doing."

Konan inclined her head and stared intently on her work, "Nagato how does that feel?"

Nagato focused his chakra into the rods and sent it outwards, "perfect as always Konan. Kakuzu and Hidan will be arriving by tomorrow." He sighed as he felt the Gedo statue, but couldn't form a link to it, "as I imagined Madara has thought a head. Although the statue is now weaker, he is recklessly using its chakra."

Gaara glared intently at the rinnegan wielder, "can you tell where it is?"

The rinnegan wielder closed his eyes and focused on the Gedo statue's chakra, "North-West from here, I believe in what is still known as the Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Fields) or Oto no Kuni (Land of Sound)."

Tsunade sighed, that wasn't really specific… they already knew this from the reports Mitarashi Anko's reports.

Nagato opened his eyes and looked at Konan with a nod she cleaned his back from dried blood and turned to the two Kages. "When the time comes… will you be against it if I took control over the Gedo statue?"

Gaara and Tsunade shared a look and after a few moments the blonde sighed, "I cannot say that we will agree. However, if you can take this power away from Madara then do it, but be informed that we won't let you keep it."

Nagato and Konan's eyes meet and he nodded, not revealing anything of what he was really thinking.

Gaara and Tsunade sighed and tilted their heads, soon leaving the two Akatsuki on their own.

**-o-The Bastard, The Flower and The Shark-o-**

Sakura sighed as she stared at the emotionless Uchiha, they had arrived at their destination but just a few hours back. After setting up camp and hunting for their meal the bastard had taken a sit and went into a meditated state.

"What is he doing?" she wondered out loud, at last noticing the red glow from his ring.

Kisame looked up and smirked, "he is communicating with Nagato."

Her eyes widened, 'so that's it... I wonder...?'

"Don't even think about it pinky..." the shark shinobi warned with hidden humor.

**-o-o-o-**

Itachi's chakra form stood in front of Nagato, his red eyes being the only think that told of his identity.

'_How is your mission faring?_' the rinnegan wielder asked.

'_As planned, we will be eliminating our target by tomorrow morning and heading to Kumogakure immediately afterwards._' Itachi reported without a hint of emotion.

'_Excellent,_' Nagato murmured. '_How is the girl doing?_'

Itachi visibly sighed and gave his leader a dry look. '_She's not able to concentrate properly without risking her life..._'

Nagato chuckled humorlessly, '_unfortunately time isn't on our side... Itachi._' The Uchiha's snorted in agreement, '_or perhaps you think the girl is more trouble then she's worth._' He continued as he stood up and went to look at some scrolls. '_Either way... it matters not, give her the ring. She will have to be more careful then the rest of us._'

'_May I ask, why are you so interested in this girl?_' he voiced without thinking.

The redhead looked up from whatever he was reading and studied the normally emotionless man. '_In truth, it is not the girl specifically that interests me... but how she'll react when she joins the link. I am sure that you have realized that we aren't as we use to be..._'

The sharingan wielder tilted his head, '_hai... it's as though the bijūs chakras are flowing within our veins. Our rings only reinforce the connection with the statue and between the members. I'm positive that if I were to remove the ring, I would still feel their chakra._'

'_Do you think it possible for you to use it?_'

Itachi was silent for a couple of seconds as he thought over the question and looked deep within his chakra network. '_Hai, I think that I've been using it since I awakened; in improving my physical health. I should not have the stamina or chakra reserves that I seem to possess._'

_'Perceptive as always Itachi,_' Nagato noted. '_However and luckily for the child... she won't have the same connection as we do_.' He held up a scroll, '_it most likely has something to do with our resurrection. She will only have the standard connection that links her to the chakra of the other members._'

Itachi tilted his head and accepted this new information, 'this may prove to be a strength for us… but we are still not sure what will be the long term consequences of any of this. It doesn't matter who they are, they do not deserve to suffer for our crimes.'

'_Give her the ring and instruct her to follow my chakra frequency from it. If her chakra control is as good as Tsunade has been bragging about then this should be simple enough._' Nagato mischievously grinned, '_tell me... what is she doing right now._'

Itachi frowned, 'what is he up to?' he wondered as he focused on the other half of his conscious... 'well, well, well... it seems as though she is up to something.' The pink hair kunoichi was stealthily trying to make her way over to where he was sitting and what was more interesting was that she seemde to be holding a meter of chakra rope. Plus, to his annoyance Kisame was only laying there laughing...

"Whatever you are planning... I wouldn't recommend it, kunoichi." He said. His stoic voice surprising her and making her jump a meter into the air.

Kisame burst into a hysteria of laughter, "told you… you weren't going to be able too even get close enough, pinky

Sakura huffed in indignation and slumped in defeat, "yeah, yeah... it just isn't fair. I would just like to get back at him for all the times..."

The kiri shinobi chuckled, "in a hundred years perhaps you'll be able to. After many years of living on the run, pinky, we've learned to never let our guard down."

She sighed, "That's encouraging."

'_She... has spirit and is persistent,_' Itachi told Nagato with barely a hint of humor.

'_Give her the ring, Itachi, and inform me if you find anything of interest._' Nagato said dismissively.

'_Hai,_' he replied as he released the jutsu.

Itachi's eyes focused on his surroundings and landed on a certain pink head. "Kunoichi, come here."

Sakura clenched her jaw, 'why does he have to be so bossy?!'

"What do you want, Uchiha-san?"

"Know that I do not agree with this, but Nagato is adamant on you receiving it." Itachi stated as he dug something out of his rob and threw it at the pinkette.

Sakura caught the object surprised and was even more shocked as she noted what it was.

"Put it on," the bastard instructed, "right little finger."

Not having a reason to argue, she placed it on said finger and not a second later doubled over in pain. Her head felt as though it was going to explode and her chakra pathways felt as though they were burning from the inside out.

"Do not fight it," she heard... however the voice sounded far away. "Let it flow through you and become one with it, become one with Akatsuki."

Sakura heard the words and as hard as she tried to follow what it said something in her being kept resisting. Her mind kept rebelling at what the voice last said... 'become one with Akatsuki'.

Itachi sighed; he could feel his chakra flowing into her body... plus the chakra from the other members. If she keeps fighting it their chakra will break her, mentally that is. He knelt down in front of her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura-san, accept our chakra, accept the connection and allow your mind to become one with Akatsuki. Let your chakra become part of us... we have all accepted you, Sakura-san, now is the time for you to accept us." The voice told her, it was louder now... but she really couldn't think about that at the moment. Either way, it helped her clear her mind from the pain and let her think on what it was saying.

She thought back on the last month that she had spent with the Akatsuki. While things didn't really start off on a good note... she quickly came to enjoy that no matter what any of them did they were never judged. No matter how much of a freak they were or how much they thrive in teasing one another, underneath it all they respect each other in their weird ways. They would never kill one of their own or think badly of them if they ever did something.

They all just live life as they want to, not caring for the consequences or what other people would think. There is something liberating about it.

'Now only if I can…. I know their faults and what are the things that make them different from everybody else.' She thought back to everything that had happened and a small smile shown on her otherwise pain expression. 'Yes, yes… I do accept them.'

Itachi stared at the girl and noticed when the pain started to leave her face and felt her shoulder relax. 'Good, it seems as though the chakras are stabilizing.'

Sakura slowly began to open her eyes and looked up at the black onyx eyes that had been the vain of her existence for the last few weeks.

"What the hell was that?" were the first words that escaped her lips.

Itachi closed his eyes and shook his head; what had he been thinking. His hand dropped from her shoulder and stood up. He held up his right hand where his ring rested. "These rings connect us to the rest of Akatsuki, it is also with these that we are able to perform the communication jutsu. For them to work, we are all connected via our chakra at any given time a part of our mind is always connected to the others and when we are close to one another we can telepathically speak to the members around us."

The pinkette stared at the now small ring that had the written kanji for 'black warrior' on it. To her utter surprise, her nails were slowly turning a bright shade of green. "W-what?!"

The Uchiha looked down at what had captured her attention now, "we believe that it represents the color of our chakra."

"S-so you guys don't paint your nails?" Sakura asked incredulously, at last getting down to one of the biggest mysterious of Akatsuki.

Kisame's bumming laughter broke into their small private bubble. "What?! No! As long as you wear that little piece of metal, your nails will always be that color."

"Huh," she said mildly surprise.

"When you wish to speak with anyone of us, using this focus on the chakra in the back of your mind and search for the signature of that person. Also when you preform the communication jutsu you must send your conscious towards the chakra of that person." Itachi explained starting to walk away. "When you are ready Nagato is waiting for your report. He will also most likely explain a couple of other things."

Sakura nodded numbly and stared down at the ring. It was official, she is now completely now one of the Akatsuki. She just hopes that her friends will understand.

* * *

**Till' next time….**


	22. Wind Pt7

**Well it sure has been awhile and here is the last part of this arc. I'll like to thank **diamondluver67**, **Justasombode**, **AomeAzakura**, **Inner-me-is-chaos**, **PrayJ**, **AkaNoAya**, **MysticMoonlight474**, **xDkira41x** and **Panthers of darkness16 **for favoriting. Plus, **AoKeisatsukan**, **dandinliezel** and **Sincerely Athena **for following this story. You all remind me that this story exists and to continue it.**

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Bright ruby red  
Warm liquid  
More valuable then gold  
The essence of life

* * *

_**"When you wish to speak with any one of us, using this focus on the chakra in the back of your mind and search for the signature of that person. Also when you preform the communication jutsu you must send your conscious towards the chakra of that person." Itachi explained starting to walk away. "When you are ready Nagato is waiting for your report. He will also most likely explain a couple of other things."**_

_**Sakura nodded numbly and stared down at the ring. It was official, she is now completely now one of the Akatsuki. She just hopes that her friends will understand.**_

* * *

The following morning, Itachi, Sakura and Kisame watched over the camp that they were to assassinate. The caves gave the enemy the home field advantage, however they all knew that at the end it wasn't really going to matter.

"Sakura-san, Kisame and I will enter the caves… you shall stay out here and make sure that nobody is able to escape." Itachi ordered and gave her a hard look, "nobody is that understood. Being woman or child, they are not permitted to leave this area alive."

Sakura gulped as she stared at his cold red eyes, she really didn't have a choice and either way she had already decided to carry on with this mission no matter what. "I understand, Itachi-san."

Itachi inclined his head and the two were soon off, it was only seconds later that Sakura was able to hear the screams. She really couldn't help but wince a little and to whatever god that hated her the first being that made it her way was a small boy with black hair and teal eyes. She sighed and appeared in front of him, forcing him to crash into her and knocking him down. Her frown deepened as she realized that he couldn't be any older then ten years old.

Honestly what could his parents have been thinking in involving their innocent child, however she had to keep reminding herself that no matter what she had to carry out her mission. With steel in her eyes and ignoring with all her might what she was about to do, she reached for a kunai and not even giving herself a second to really think about it… slashed the boy across the chest.

Sakura knew that he would die in a matter of seconds and turned her back to him. She didn't dare feel anything at that moment and as though some part of her had felt the other presence near her. Without a single thought, she turned on her heel and cut down the incoming woman.

**-o-o-o-**

Sakura stared at the mass of bodies near her feet, forcing herself to block out every single trace of emotion. It had been half an hour since their attack had started but to her it had felt like nearly a century. The amount of people that had slipped past Kisame and Itachi was unthinkable… if it was so bad out here, she didn't even dare think about the nightmare that was going on inside.

It had been after the woman that her mind had shut down and her body had gone on autopilot, and because of the tranquility of the last couple of minutes she had been able to regain some semblance of a conscious mind. The sight that had greeted her hadn't been a pleasant one and she was now praying to any merciful god that nobody else will come her way.

Luckily for her, the next person she saw was Itachi. She couldn't help but feel relief, it was at last over.

Itachi expected the scene before him and closed his eyes. The rebels here had been prepared and had various evacuation routes in place, however they all lead to the same place. Regretfully, must of the people that slipped past them had been women and children and now they all lay before him. Sakura was covered in blood and was shaking, most likely not believing what she had been capable of doing it.

Itachi exhaled and walked towards her, it was just a matter of seconds before she went into shock and pass out.

Sakura looked at him and in an attempt to distract her self tried to make conversation with the least talkative person imaginable.

"That was faster then I would have imagine."

Itachi inclined his head, but to her surprise he decided to humor her. "If our Intel had been correct we would have finish this much faster."

"Huh and where… is… Kisame?" she asked her voice already starting to shake.

He shrugged, "knowing him… he should be here in a couple of minutes. He sometimes likes to play with his victims."

Sakura nodded, but that really had been the last straw and she fainted, not wanting to think of the shark-nin's definition of 'play'.

The sharingan wielder sighed as he shunshin and caught her before she could touch the ground. This girl was definitely way to innocent for their line of work or better yet to be part of an organization such as Akatsuki. Nonetheless, it was already too late for her… she was now a part of them.

**-o-Kumogakure-o-**

Hidan and Kakuzu arrived at the village and the miser had to instantly hold his partner back. Kakuzu himself was having trouble holding back his initial reaction at seeing all those village shinobi. For more years then anybody could have thought possible these ninjas had hunted him down and made his life a living hell. The great villages stood for everything that the two immortals loathed and fought to get rid of.

"_Keep to the shadows, the others are not to see you… Hidan the Nara-gaki knows that you are alive… he was not pleased._" Nagato informed the pair and both immortals disappeared into the shadows, swiftly running towards the Raikage's building.

Hidan chuckled, "_who told him?"_

"… _Konan…_" Nagato stated. The zombie brothers stopped dead in their tracks and sent their disbelief through the link. Hidan was practically choking on his own laughter.

"D-didn't expect t-that!"

Kakuzu grunted his agreement and restarted their pace, not feeling exactly comfortable out in the open. Hidan after a few coughs/laughs followed with a new light in his eyes… the poor Nara better keep his distance or he will be in trouble.

"_Konan and I are in the meeting room, we will wait for you here._" The rinnegan wielder ordered as he cut the conversation. Hidan's laughter died down and sped up… perhaps he will be able to see a few of the Kages and jōnins.

**-o-o-o-**

The immortal due shunshin into the room, Hidan smirked as he watched the Raikage's rage play across his face, annoyance on the blonde's and indifference on the young Kazekage.

"Tactful as ever you two," their leader said dryly. The two Amegakure shinobi did not bothering to look up from the map.

Hidan snorted, "you didn't recruit us for our tact, Nagato."

"Perhaps knocking would've been wise," Tsunade advised trying to keep her temper.

The pink-eyed ninja shrugged and stared out the window. Kakuzu took this as his cue.

"The assassination was a success, Shizen no kuni sends they're gratitude and wishes to be kept out of the incoming war."

Pein exhaled, he had been expecting that reaction... but he had hope for at least an economical alliance. "Very well Kakuzu, Hidan" he turned and looked at the Kages. "We will be leaving now... I ask that you rethink your decision. You are limiting us unnecessarily... Akatsuki knows the ways of war, we know how to win no matter the costs."

Gaara narrowed his eyes and looked pointedly at the Zombie Brothers. "That is what we are afraid of."

Hidan scoffed and shook his head turning to leave. Kakuzu not believing his partner's attitude... there must be something about the Kages that forces Hidan to stay quiet.

"We will play nice for now, Kages" Kakuzu warned as he for once followed Hidan out of the room.

Nagato nodded and the Amegakure shinobi exited the room quietly. He knows the members of Akatsuki and before the first day of fighting ends the entire shinobi forces will know of their resurrection.

Tsunade sighed and slumped into her chair, glad that the Tsuchikage hadn't been present during this meeting. They were playing with fire and before this war is over it would be determined if it had been a good thing or not. Either way she has already lost her precious student to that hated organization.

**-o-A Couple Days After-o-**

Konan looked up at Nagato as they walked towards another meeting. It would seem that the Tsuchikage had transported the Turtle Island to the boarder of Kumogakure. Orochimaru's and Sasori's ex-subordinate had attacked the island with the information that they suspected had come from Danzō. If their guess was correct then they will have more to worry about then just a few dead shinobi.

"It seems that a pattern is emerging," the bluenette commented as she glanced at her pattern from the corner of her eyes.

Nagato smirked as they turned a corner, "Deidara and Sasori have already informed me of their mission in Yume no Kuni." He chuckled and lowered his voice, "The Daimyōs acted as I had predicted… Deidara was not pleased."

Ame's tenshi snickered, though placed her mask once more as they entered the meeting the room. "_What will be truly amusing during this meeting will be how the Tsuchikage reacts to seeing his pupil again._"

The rinnegan wielder tilted his head in agreement as he took his sit, Konan taking her place behind him. "_He does seem to have a talent for getting under that old man's skin._"

Before Konan could respond, the Hokage called the meeting into order. The Kazekage and Tsuchikage were once more sitting in, their mission to secure the jinchūriki completed.

"That arrogant, mutated freak had the nerve to challenge us," grumbled the aged Kage. "What's worse is that he was being accompanied by a pale face kid riding a sort of ink bird."

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up, not believing the description of the shinobi. 'If this is true… then it means…' she really didn't wish to think about it. Nonetheless, it would seem that the Akatsuki leaders weren't going to leave it be.

"Hokage, is this the description of one of your known R.O.O.T. operatives?" Nagato inquired.

Tsunade looked down, but after a moment stared up at the accusing eyes with defiant. If the old war bat was going to side with the Uchiha… then she really didn't have a choice. 'Naruto, please forgive me… I will do my best to protect both of Sai and Sakura, but they really aren't making this easy.'

"Unfortunately… yes…"

The Mizukage in an attempt to advert their attention for a few seconds said, "Nagato-san you do not seem surprised."

It was a statement, but the Akatsuki could hear the question and slight accusation in her voice.

"Itachi informed us of what could be Danzō's next move after he defected from Konohagakure." He answered with a none caring voice.

Ōnoki glowered at the redhead, "and you didn't provide us with this information sooner, why…?"

Nagato exhaled and leaned back in his chair. "It was mild speculation in our part and I am doing so now."

Raikage grunted and stood up, leaning on his arms against the table. "Speculation or not, that damn old war fox does not know when to quit! He has sided with our enemy and given Madara more shinobi." He turned to the Hokage, "if what is known of R.O.O.T. is correct then no one knows what any of his shinobis' abilities are."

Tsunade solemnly nodded and as the Kage turned and stared at the window thoughtfully. The mood in the room darkened. They had but a number of days left to prepared. Shinobi from the Five Great Nations were already getting everything prepared for the war that was going to determine the future of the Elemental Nations.

Honestly if Nagato had calculated right; Kisame, Itachi and Sakura would be getting to the tower with barely a day left. He knew that it wasn't going to be enough. The kunoichi was still not fully prepare to fight as one of them and according to Itachi's last report she was being overwhelmed by shock from their last mission.

The Amekage snorted inwardly in disgust. By all accounts she was but a green kunoichi who had scarcely seen the ugly side of their world. From what he has gotten from Kisame's snipe side remarks, the girl is but on autopilot not responding to anything.

As the leaders contemplated, Gaara saw a distinctive white bird fly over the village. The young redhead couldn't help but tense at the reminder of what had happened last time he took notice of the pure white clay creation.

After a few seconds, Ōnoki scoffed as he spotted the bird, the rest of the Kages weren't slow to tense as the bird descended and puffed out of existence. Two figures stealthily fell through the smoke and landed on the roof. Konan and Nagato counted the seconds down as they swiftly made their way through the tower.

"This is the 3rd time that your members have interrupted our meeting with their arrival," A growled.

Konan closed her eyes and prepared for the explosions (of any kind) that usually came with Deidara entering a room.

"Ah Sasori-danna must we really, yeah?" they heard the bomber complained. Nagato imagined that the puppeteer must have hit the blonde in order to shut him up.

Ōnoki huffed and sat back, prepared to face his former student. The brat was a handful and couldn't stay quiet for more then a few minutes, though he still has to wonder….

"They where at the far north of Chikyū no Kuni (Earth Country), in the small country of Ongaku (Music) and Yume (Dream) helping the Daimyōs arrange a marriage treaty." The Amekage explained as the duo made it to the room and burst in.

Deidara frowning as he heard the ending of Nagato's explanation.

"You knew of the warrant they had for my head, yeah?" the blonde demanded indignantly.

Nagato lifted an eyebrow, but didn't answered.

The blonde bristled at his leader's attitude though wasn't truly surprise. An attack on that scale wasn't going to kill any one of them and he really should have seen it coming… last time he was in that area he hadn't left things in good terms. This didn't mean that he was going to admit it any of it out loud.

The small kage snorted humorlessly and gazed at the blonde condescendingly, "it's pitying to say that that doesn't surprise me."

Deidara sneered, however before he could act he felt a slight tug from his quiet partner. Looking down at the now young puppet master, he grinded his teeth and exhaled, thinking on his happy place. His Danna was correct as usual… the damn geezer wanted to get to him and he would be damned if he let him.

Ōnoki eyebrows lifted in surprise, he had been so sure that he was going to get a explosive responsive from the former Explosion Corps' captain… however the small redhead that was always with him stopped his tantrum in its tracks. He grudgingly had to hand it to the puppeteer, he had accomplished the impossible.

What the aged Fence sitter didn't notice was that the infamous puppeteer was glaring at him in disgust. Sasori was aware what the man wanted out of the bomber, but he wasn't going to give these people the pleasure of seeing anyone of them humiliated… especially the member he unwillingly thought of as a younger brother.

Nagato thinking it best to get back on point, arched an eyebrow questioningly. Seeing this Sasori tilted his head and gave a small affirmative. This small exchange didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the shinobi in the room, but they all knew that it would have been pointless to ask.

After a few seconds of tense silence, the puppet master grunted and turned to his partner, without another word the Artist Duo left the room.

A had to resist the urge to slam his arm on the wooden table and demand an explanation… this shinobi were completely frustrating: they followed no set of rules and were totally unpredictable, they knew more then they were letting on about this accursed war with Madara, and if the other Kages would only agree with him for just a second he would pry that information out of the wretched organization.

Tsunade stared after the duo, this confirmed what Kakashi had reported… Sakura had been teamed up with Itachi and Kisame. She can only imagine the type of mission that this damn man had sent her on. Yes she was confident in her student's abilities, however and the Hokage was sure that this was going to be the case… the young kunoichi has never before killed in cold blood.

The blonde kunoichi closed her eyes and leaned back on her chair, she couldn't help but think that when she sees her apprentice again… the girl will have lost her last shred of innocence, she will perhaps be a completely different person. It was a simple fact of life: taking another person's life always breaks away at ones own soul.

The Hokage shivered at the thought, there were some that their souls could take the damage and they would not lose ones self. Other times they become addicted to the taste of blood and the rush that comes with ending a life; and at times a human does not head down either path and they decide to lock their emotions away. It is these beings that become the perfect shinobi, but Tsunade has always wondered if such sacrifices are worth the result.

Tsunade sighed and paid attention to the other village leaders… she will have to find a way to get close to Akatsuki and undo whatever they have done to her precious student. Plus, if by some miracle she is able to come to understand these shinobi then she may be able to predict what their true motives behind this alliance are.

* * *

**The song that inspired this arc, should be quite obvious if you've ever payed attention to the closing theme of a Naruto episode the original one: Wind by Akeboshi. **

**Don't try to live so wise  
****Don't cry 'cause you're so right  
****Don't dry with fakes or fears  
**'**Cause you will hate yourself in the end**

**Till' next time….**


End file.
